Should a government hold a referendum on tax? A civil servant messages in to pose this idea to Ed Balls and George Osborne on this week’s EMQs. The two debate the merits of holding any referendum, reminisce on how easily they become about more than their central question, and ponder whether tax policy is suited to the form of a referendum. 

Former MP Luke Hall asks the pair about charities funding and tax changes, and George relays the surprising difficulty he found in crafting the appropriate policy for this sector whilst Chancellor. 

And, is Peter Mandelson leaking information to Jeffrey Epstein a betrayal to the Labour party on the scale of the SDP forming in ‘81 or Ramsay MacDonald’s National government? Or, is it something even greater? Ed explains the ways that the Mandelson scandal is uniquely perfidious.

Finally, is the shelf life for a British politician shorter than the rest of the world? Why is it so rare to see someone re-enter the Commons after leaving? Ed and George weigh up the reasons for greater churn in British political life than in other democracies. 

We love hearing from you, so please don’t forget to send all your EMQs to questions@politicalcurrency and make sure to include a voice note of your question.

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Credits:

Research: Sam Burton

Production: Caillin McDaid, Caitlin Hanrahan & Eve Jones 

Video Editor: Avi Asher

Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford

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