Why no one can 'land a glove' on Farage
Political Currency
Persephonica
4.1 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2026
⏱️ 63 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A dramatic week in UK politics has seen the successful state visit to the US by King Charles and another hit on Keir Starmer in the ongoing Mandelson scandal. Ed Balls and George Osborne break down all the moving parts of these events. Is the special relationship saved? Did Kemi Badenoch move too early against Starmer? And what does this all mean going into a seismic set of local elections?
On said elections, the pair break down the vulnerable positions for both main parties. They argue Kemi Badenoch needs an ethical reset from the tumultuous Boris Johnson era if she hopes to fend off Reform and make serious gains for the Conservatives. On the Labour side, they believe Keir Starmer has not got a diagnosis for why Labour are unpopular, and this risks his position should any cabinet member decide to stick the knife in after the elections.
Finally, they return to assisted dying to analyse why the bill stalled out in the Lords and debate just how it can come back. Is it a slow process to such a big reform? Or is it best to strike when the iron is hot, or risk losing this debate for a generation? The pair disagree on what exactly is the best route forward…
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Credits:
Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid & Nasreen Arain
Video Editor: Carla Mercer & Ryan Finnigan
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford & Henrietta Harrison
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is political currency with Ed Balls and George Osbourne. |
| 0:29.7 | The Osborne has landed. |
| 0:35.5 | George Osborne, 8 a.m. this morning, landing from San Francisco into Heathrow. |
| 0:55.4 | We are in London, but remote, because, you know, you had to go back and shave and recover and show and all this kind of things. But you're back. I am back. I wasn't on the state visit in a parallel universe. I might have been, but I wasn't. I was at a company offsite. I don't know if you've ever done one of those there, but do you know what swag is? |
| 0:57.3 | I know what an offsite is, but I don't know. |
| 1:05.0 | I thought swag is what you steal if you are like a global capitalist baron trying to steal from the people. |
| 1:07.1 | You'll think of your old Marxist days. |
| 1:12.4 | Swag is the stuff that the company gives you with all their brands on it. So I've got a rather nice kind of open AI jacket as a result of my trip. Well, it's a step up from the hoodie. |
| 1:18.7 | It is a bit of a step up. It's more like a kind of artist's apron, I would say. Why do they want to |
| 1:24.4 | give you a jacket? That's all to do with company loyalty. |
| 1:28.3 | With motivation. |
| 1:30.5 | Team building and all that, remember? |
| 1:31.2 | Yes. |
| 1:32.4 | Remember that in politics? |
| 1:36.9 | I know none of the political parties are currently doing that kind of thing. |
| 1:42.7 | But, you know, there was a time when we had away days and off-sites and the like in politics, wasn't it? |
| 1:43.4 | It is interesting. |
| 1:50.9 | I still wear my Canadian Ottawa 1998, I think it was, G20 green jacket, |
| 1:56.9 | sort of fleece thing. So I was about to say, other than Rory McElroy, who gets a jacket, |
| 2:00.3 | but then I suddenly realized I've got one. So there we are. Historic swag. I'm not sure there's a |
| 2:02.1 | direct comparison between the jacket you get for winning the US Masters and the bit you get |
| 2:09.1 | for being a bad carry at some international gathering. But if you like it, of course I've missed |
... |
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