EMQs: What do the public think of Ed and George?
4/27/202627 min
Off the back of last week’s EMQs, Tamara Finkelstein sends in a correction to the idea that UK schools don’t prepare for attacks like those in the US. She highlights that Jewish schools have to prepare and feel threatened in this current environment. Ed Balls and George Osborne highlight the worrying trend of antisemitism in the UK and the need for public figures to actively combat it.
Aldershot MP Alex Baker then chimes in with a proposal to adopt a multilateral defence, security and resilience bank, much like Mark Carney is championing in Canada. This poses a challenge for the pair, who recognise the necessity of improving defensive relations with our allies but see the economic challenges
How do prime ministers prepare for PMQs? Is it usual for the opposition to send questions in advance, as Kemi Badenoch did last week? George explains the procedure and conventions in the chamber, and how the opposition aims to catch out PMs.
And finally, pollsters from More in Common reached out following the discussion of ex-PMs, on the main show, with some fascinating insight into who the public most wants to hear from. Ed and George are included for good measure, and even rival podcasters get a mention…
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 & Nasreen Arain
Video Editor: Carla Mercer
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 secondsEd Balls· Host0:00
The Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Speaker 20:01
[cheering] 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. [laughing] Ed Balls, a steady as she goes budget. What kind of ship does he think he's on, the Titanic? The Marie Celeste.
Ed Balls· Host0:16
[laughing] Welcome to EMQ's from Political Currency.
George Osborne· Host0:20
With Ed Balls and George Osborne.
Ed Balls· Host0:21
[upbeat music] Hello and welcome to EMQ's Ex-Ministers Questions. We are remote, although George is in London rather than California or Tokyo or South Africa or, uh, Dubai, uh, the Straits of Hormuz, Pakistan. Have you had a good week?
George Osborne· Host0:42
Do you know, I have. I had, uh, I've had a nice week, and, you know, I was taken to lunch at somewhere I think you would love, and I'm proposing to take you out on a date, Ed. I'm gonna take you to Simpson's in the Strand.
Ed Balls· Host0:58
Oh, the new Simpson's?
George Osborne· Host0:59
Yes. So I was taken there by a wonderful guy called Euan Venters, who you might have come across, um, now running the Paul Smith empire, but used to, uh, run Fortnum & Mason's. And Simpson's in the Strand has been, um, renovated. It's still a... It's a really old kind of classic restaurant, isn't it, um, in London.
Ed Balls· Host1:19
Did you go there in the old days?
George Osborne· Host1:20
I did go once in the old days and was not that impressed. [laughs] It was- I used to go for breakfast.
Ed Balls· Host1:26
They used to do an absolutely brilliant breakfast.
George Osborne· Host1:29
Right.
Ed Balls· Host1:29
When I worked at the Financial