Burnham, Streeting, and Rayner’s race to No. 10
5/21/20261 hr 5 min
British politics has moved at a rapid pace the last week, with Andy Burnham securing his root to parliament, Wes Streeting reigniting Brexit debates, and a defiant No. 10 fighting on through all of it. Ed Balls and George Osborne examine the leadership race, the manoeuvres being made by Streeting to court the Labour faithful and how Burnham is having to campaign on two fronts. Why is the cabinet silent? Is Starmer right to cling on? Will the King of the North be coronated should he return to parliament? What if he loses?
The pair then examine the economic prospectus of both Burnham and Streeting, contrasting it with the cost of living support announced by Rachel Reeves today. They detail the limitations of any government to combat inflation, the holes in plans both contenders have spoken of and the risk a governing party faces openly debating policy like this.
Finally, they take a trip across the Atlantic to California and the final stages of the gubernatorial primary. George’s mate Steve Hilton has maintained his frontrunner status amidst a split Democratic field, but can he actually win come November? The odds are stacked against him, but Ed and George caution not to count him out.
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 or send a question to our social media handles:
👉 X
👉 TikTok
Thanks for listening. To get episodes early and ad- free join Political Currency Gold or our Kitchen Cabinet. If you want even more perks including our exclusive newsletter, join our Kitchen Cabinet today:
👉 patreon.com/politicalcurrency
Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.
Credits:
Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid
Video Editor: Sam Gruet
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford & Henrietta Harrison
Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGreg James0:00
Hello podcast listener.
Alice Levine0:01
Hello you.
Greg James0:02
It's me, Greg James.
Alice Levine0:03
And me, Alice Levine.
Greg James0:05
Now look, I know that you're very much enjoying this podcast that you're listening to, and we're sorry to interrupt, we really are.
Alice Levine0:12
And it genuinely might not be our place to say, but is it time to try something new?
Greg James0:18
We would like to steal you for our new podcast. It's called Bad Chat.
Alice Levine0:21
And it sounds a bit like this [beep].
Greg James0:23
This, this one goes out to the walkers and the talkers in the late night.
Alice Levine0:26
Stalkers.
Greg James0:27
[laughs] Stalkers. No, maybe not that one [beep]. Alice is my best friend. I am not Alice's best friend [beep].
Alice Levine0:32
Do you know that horses' legs are their fingers?
Greg James0:34
[beep] That is a bit of bad chat from me, Greg James.
Alice Levine0:38
And me, famously, Alice Levine.
Greg James0:40
Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
George Osborne· Host0:42
[upbeat music] This is Political Currency.
Ed Balls· Host1:04
With Ed Balls and George Osborne. [upbeat music] So we are remote this week. The studio refit is still underway, and, uh, we are recording after what has been a wild, wild week, hasn't it?
George Osborne· Host1:27
Yes. People competing for the very top