Could Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ gamble pay off?
Political Currency
Persephonica
4 • 855 Ratings
🗓️ 27 March 2025
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Has Chancellor Rachel Reeves got it right? Ed Balls and George Osborne provide their immediate reaction to her Spring Statement, questioning whether she’s missed her big opportunity for a relaunch. George likens her approach to ‘staying at the Roulette table’, having failed to land on black the first time around…
He also compares her inflexibility to fiscal rules to his own approach while Chancellor, before the pair turn their attention to the government’s own impact assessment on welfare reform. Ed explains what the findings of the report potentially means for millions of families across the country.
And, having returned from the HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong mere hours before recording, they turn their attention to uncertainty over the global economy following the announcement of yet more tariffs from Donald Trump. They also ponder somewhat gloomy international perceptions of the UK, with Brexit and Liz Truss being consistent themes that are still raised in conversations abroad.
Finally the US national security establishment strayed into farcical territory this week, sharing operational details of a strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen on the messaging app Signal - and accidentally including the editor of The Atlantic, Jeff Goldberg, in the conversation. George and Ed express their bemusement at this turn of events and share their own experiences in government of receiving highly classified intelligence...
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| 0:00.0 | This podcast is brought to you by Spec Savers Home Visits. |
| 0:03.2 | You know, politics might divide us, but good vision is something we can all agree on, |
| 0:07.7 | particularly when it comes to taking care of loved ones. |
| 0:10.1 | Absolutely, especially as not everyone can get out and about easily, |
| 0:13.5 | which is why services like Spec Savers' home visits are so important. |
| 0:17.4 | If you or someone you know are unable to leave home unaccompanied due to a physical |
| 0:21.0 | or mental illness or disability, Spec Savers' home visits can come to you. And you can easily |
| 0:26.1 | find out if you or your loved one is eligible for a home visit online. That is such a great |
| 0:30.8 | initiative. You often think of needing to call out the doctor to come visit at home for you |
| 0:35.6 | or a loved one, but, an optician visit, a |
| 0:39.7 | speck saver visit, could make a lot of sense. Yeah, and I can just imagine if you're homebound |
| 0:43.8 | and you don't get out very much, you just don't go to the optician perhaps for a couple of years |
| 0:48.7 | and your eyesight deteriorates. So it's absolutely brilliant, isn't it, that Spec Savers have these home visits? At-home eyetests are just like the ones in store, with a few tweaks to make them home-friendly. |
| 0:58.5 | The expert opticians are great at working with different needs, so you or your loved one will get the same top-quality care. |
| 1:04.5 | If you're unsure whether you or someone you care for, qualifies for a free NHS-funded iTester home, visit their eligibility page online to check. |
| 1:13.0 | Search Spec Savers Home Visits. Geographical restrictions apply. |
| 1:17.9 | This podcast is brought to you by Lloyd's Banking Group because everyone deserves a safe place to call home. |
| 1:24.1 | But right now, around 1.5 million households across the UK are waiting for social |
| 1:28.6 | housing. Families are spending years in temporary accommodation, with some waiting 20 years and |
| 1:32.9 | entire childhood. And that has real consequences, poorer health, lower wages and fewer opportunities. |
| 1:38.2 | And that's why Lloyd's Banking Group has been championing social housing for decades, |
| 1:42.4 | supporting over 340 housing associations |
... |
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