EMQs: Do defections make the Tories electable?
Political Currency
Persephonica
4.1 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2026
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman’s defections a blessing in disguise for Kemi Badenoch? In this week’s EMQs, Ed Balls and George Osborne explain the pros and cons of the Tories losing MPs from the right of the party, and how Badenoch can take advantage of Labour’s unpopularity.
Then, the pair consider whether the UK could adopt a US style primary system for candidates and explain how they got selected for their seats in parliament. They also confront the surprising fact that no prime minister has come to power and been ejected through a General Election since the 1970s and answer whether Britain is actually a democracy?
They then answer if any British politician is capable of inspiring people the way Mark Carney did at Davos. George and Ed use their past experiences writing and delivering speeches to debate whether Carney's speech was inspiring because of what was written, or how and where it was said.
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.
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Credits:
Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid
Video Editor: Avi Asher
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Chancellor of the Exchequer. |
| 0:02.0 | Getting a lesson from the Shadow Chancellor and how to balance the books, |
| 0:05.0 | it's like getting a lesson from Dracula and how to look after a blood pack. |
| 0:08.0 | Ed Balls. |
| 0:10.0 | As steady as she goes, budget. |
| 0:13.0 | What kind of ship does he think he's on, the Titanic? |
| 0:16.0 | Themary Celeste. |
| 0:17.0 | Welcome to EMQs from Political Currency. |
| 0:20.0 | With Ed Balls and George Osborne. |
| 0:27.4 | So hello and welcome to EMQ's ex-minister's questions. |
| 0:31.3 | We are still basking in the glow of our political podcast awards victories, Ellie Clifford, producer of the year, |
| 0:40.8 | and political currency, political podcast of the year. Very exciting evening, but actually |
| 0:46.1 | something else happened, which I didn't tell you about, because George, you slipped off before |
| 0:50.9 | me after the photos. I think you went to one of those sort of ticket only awards after |
| 0:56.1 | parties, which only the Davos global elite are invited to. You didn't go to the Vanity Fair |
| 1:01.1 | party that they had. We're not invited. No, which is probably why I don't have a croaky voice. |
| 1:05.8 | No, I went straight home precisely because I was losing my voice. But I had a fascinating revelation. |
| 1:28.1 | A woman came up to me while we're doing the photos just after you had gone and said, can I have a photo with you? I said, of course you can. And she said, I have a reason for this. She said, it's going to save me 150 pounds. And I said, why is that? She said, for the last few years, she's been playing for a netball team, |
| 1:32.1 | which plays in the London Women's Netball League, based in Brixton. |
| 1:35.1 | For 10 years, this team has been called Ed Balls. |
| 1:36.5 | I mean, goodness knows why. |
| 1:37.7 | Named after me. |
... |
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