Is it the final blow for Starmer as Healey resigns?
6/11/20261 hr 16 min
The shock resignation of defence secretary John Healey has prompted an emergency input from Ed Balls and George Osborne for this week’s episode. They react to why he went, what it means for the government and how defence spending will become a bigger crunch point than it was already.
In one week’s time voting will open for the by-election of the century. Will Andy Burnham return to Parliament and enter Downing Street? If he does, how can he learn from not just the mistakes of Keir Starmer but previous PMs who entered mid-government. The pair examine the challenges facing the King of the North, and lay out what he must do immediately to right the ship.
They then turn their focus to Burnham’s biggest challenge: the economy. He says Manchesterism is the answer, but what is it? Does it work? And if it does, can it be effectively applied to the whole country?
Finally, with the World Cup kicking off tonight the pair take some time to look at the interplay of politics and football. Is this the most politically charged World Cup ever? What can be expected from Donald Trump, who has a testy relationship with co-hosts Canada and Mexico? What will be the impact of Iran’s participation?
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Credits:
Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid & Nasreen Arain
Video Editor: Oliver Geraghty
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford & Henrietta Harrison
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Ed Balls· Host1:06
[gentle instrumental music] Hello. Ed Balls here. Welcome to Political Currency with me and George Osborne. This is actually just a quick update from George and I before we start our usual episode, because we recorded our main episode this morning before John Healey's rather dramatic resignation this lunchtime, and we wanted