EMQs: Was HS2 a complete waste of money?

Political Currency

Persephonica

Business, Economy, George Osborne, Westminster, Politics, News, Money, Ed Balls

4 • 855 Ratings

🗓️ 28 July 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The UK’s high speed railway has been plagued with cost blowouts, delays and scale-backs - so Ed Balls and George Osborne consider: has it all just been a big waste of money? Couldn’t those funds have been put to better use? Perhaps for the NHS, for example?

The pair also consider the concept of age limits on voting. We’ve got a minimum age - recently lowered by Labour to 16 years old - so why not a maximum too? A listener asks: was it fair for those over 70 to have a say in the Brexit referendum, for example, while many people who were set to inherit a departure from Europe were at the time too young to make their voice heard?

Plus - heckling moments of brutality and brilliance. A listener recalls a well-timed response to Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons - and asks Ed and George to reflect on memorable moments of perfect comedic timing at their own, or other politicians’ expense.

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Credits:

Producer: Miriam Hall

Senior Producer: Silvia Maresca

Video Editors: Danny Pape & Maha Albadrawi

Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Joe Wiley. And I'm Soie Ball. Digit is all about the things that Joe and I love. From the kids to the
0:08.1	parents and all the stuff in between. There's a lot going on when you get to this age. Should I be taking
0:13.2	this supplement? What do I do about my Bocytus? And how are you a strand here? Joe, if I wanted to
0:20.8	listen to this, where would I find it?
0:23.1	Wherever you get your podcast, that's exactly where you'd find it.
0:25.4	You can also watch on YouTube.
0:27.0	I need to go to Turkey, quick.
0:28.9	Dig it.
0:29.5	Every week.
0:30.8	Every week.
0:31.3	For the rest of time.
0:32.5	Yes.
0:32.9	Okay, good.
0:38.3	The Chancellor of the Exchequer.
0:40.8	Getting a lesson from the Shadow Chancellor and how to balance the books,
0:43.7	it's like getting a lesson from Dracula and how to look after a blood back.
0:47.2	Ed Balls.
0:48.5	Steady as she goes, budget.
0:51.6	What kind of ship does he think he's on, the Titanic?
0:55.4	Themery, Celeste.
1:00.0	Welcome to EMQ's from Political Currency with Ed Balls and George Osborne.
1:13.3	So hello and welcome to EMQ's ex-minister's questions. Had a kind of great set of questions sent to us this week.
	...

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