Did Farage go too far or score political points this week?
6/4/20261 hr 6 min
British politics has been dominated this week by the horrifying murder of student Henry Novak and the political storm that followed the release of police bodycam footage. Ed Balls and George Osborne examine the tragedy, the questions it raises around “two-tier policing” and the political firestorm it has ignited.
The pair analyse the contrasting responses from Nigel Farage, Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch. Has Farage gone too far in his ‘emergency address to the nation’ in which he called for “cold rage”. Is this the path for someone who wants to be PM or a return to the political margins? And while Badenoch has found her strongest footing on such cultural issues, can the Conservatives afford to focus on them when the economy remains the central battleground?
They then turn to the Makerfield by-election, where Andy Burnham is navigating a local contest and a national movement. As questions grow about his leadership ambitions, can he campaign as both constituency candidate and potential prime minister? And what do the latest Mandelson files reveal about the state of Labour's government and the pressure building on Starmer?
Finally, Ed and George take a brief look at Germany where Chancellor Friedrich Merz is struggling in the polls just a year into office. With a popular regional leader already being discussed as a successor, are there lessons for Britain from Berlin's political troubles?
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsEd Balls· Host0:00
[upbeat music] This is Political Coincid- With Ed Balls and George Osborne [upbeat music] So it's a Thursday morning, and of course, George Osborne has just landed at Heathrow from another... I mean, it's almost a weekly transatlantic flight as far as I can, uh, see, and just landed from America.
George Osborne· Host0:42
Yes, I've just come back from Washington, a very sunny Washington. It was very rainy when I was there [chuckles] about 10 days ago, and I was meeting various congressional people, members of Congress, senators. Had a pretty splendid lunch in the Senate dining room, which is, was fun. Um, but they're all talking about an English guy. Well, they were all, at least all asking me about an English guy, Steve Hilton. 'Cause while I was there, the results or the early results from the California primary came through, the, the primary to choose the two people who are gonna be on the ballot paper in California this autumn to be the governor of California, and it looks like Steve has come out top. And, uh, [chuckles] everyone was asking me, like, "Tell me about this guy." Um, so he's, he's, you know...