EMQs: Should retired politicians go on Question Time?
5/25/202638 min
Following Green MP Hannah Spencer’s comments on drinking culture at Westminster, Ed Balls and George Osborne answer whether MPs should be better behaved in general during Parliamentary sessions. They make the case for heckling and jeering, comparing it to more civilised Parliaments and systems to explain how it helps hold our leaders accountable.
They then reflect on their experience on Question Time, and whether they would follow Michael Gove’s move and go on as retired politicians. This sparks a trip down memory lane, and there may be more to come in the summer…
Things get serious with a listener posing Adam Tooze’s argument that the Bank of England is instilling fear in governments following the Truss fiasco. They explain their objections to this, and explain how the Bank of England has kept things in check for Britain, particularly post-2008.
Finally, they answer the ultimate question: are Centrist Dad playing the Trinity College Oxford ball? Ed reveals the process behind the band’s booking, and they recount the bands that played their own balls. George also recounts his encounter with a literary legend that he’d really rather forget…
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Credits:
Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid & Nasreen Arain
Video Editor: Avi Asher
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford & Henrietta Harrison
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsEd Balls· Host0:00
Hello podcast listener Hello you It's me, Greg James And me, Alice Levine 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 And it genuinely might not be our place to say, but is it time to try something new? We would like to steal you for our new podcast. It's called Bad Chat And it sounds a bit like this This, this one goes out to the walkers and the talkers and the late nights Stalkers [laughs] Okay. No, maybe not that one. Alice is my best friend. I am not Alice's best friend Do you know that horses' legs are their fingers? That is a bit of Bad Chat from me, Greg James And me, famously, Alice Levine Listen wherever you get your podcasts. [upbeat music] The Chancellor of the Exchequer. Getting a lesson from the Shadow Chancellor on how to balance the books is like getting a lesson from Dracula on how to look after a blood bank. Ed Balls. A steady-as-she-goes budget. What kind of ship does he think he's on? The Titanic? Le Marie Celeste. Welcome to EMQs from Political Currency with Ed Balls and George Osborne. [upbeat music] So hello, and welcome to EMQ's Ex-Ministers Questions. And, um, George, I'm gonna guess seeing Chelsea lose to Man City in the FA Cup final was not the highlight of your weekend.
Unknown speaker1:29
[laughs]