What should the NHS pay for, and what should it not? In this week’s episode, Ed Balls and George Osborne tackle one of the toughest political questions: how do you decide what’s “reasonable” for the state to fund when it comes to healthcare? As medical advances multiply and the public expects more from the NHS, is a national conversation about rationing unavoidable?

Then, what happens when politicians leave office? A listener asks how Ed and George’s lives outside Westminster - from Wall Street and museums to breakfast TV and Strictly Come Dancing - have changed how they see politics. Would they govern differently if they ever returned?

Also this week: do the markets now have more power than elected governments? What should we expect from ministers on annual leave? And is there ever a good reason to read self-help books such as The 48 Laws of Power?

Plus, what really happened in that lift in China with George Osborne and Boris Johnson?

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Producer: Miriam Hall

Senior Producer: Silvia Maresca

Video Editor: Danny Pape

Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford

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