Will Burnham risk it all on an early election?

Will Burnham risk it all on an early election?

Political Currency · 2026-10-29
01:01:26

The Budget is over, and John Healey may want you to forget about it already. That’s what Ed Balls and George Osborne debate on this week’s episode, where they interrogate whether this Budget was biding time until an election or a sign that the Burnham government is even more hemmed in than previously thought. Will they go early and risk losing their majority? Or are they going to whittle through with a manifesto and global environment that makes big changes near impossible?


While the Budget should have been this week’s big story, Andy Burnham himself stole the spotlight by further indicating he wanted back in the EU. Is he flying kites and testing the ground for the next election? Or, is this vibes based comms strategy authentic Burnham? If so, will it backfire in a crisis? George argues it leaves him open to parody, while Ed believes Burnham cannot only communicate through social media.


Finally, they turn to the king of vibes: Donald Trump. The midterms are days away, and it’s set to be a bruising result for the Republicans if polls are to be believed. With Trump spending the last week of campaigning feuding with Obama, are the last two years of his Presidency set to be a deadlock? George argues this could benefit Republicans in 2028, while Ed suggests the next Democrat candidate may emerge next week.


We love hearing from you, so please don’t forget to send all your EMQs to [email protected] and make sure to include a voice note of your question or send a question to our social media handles:


👉 X

👉 Instagram

👉 TikTok


Thanks for listening. To get episodes early and ad- free join Political Currency Gold or our Kitchen Cabinet. If you want even more perks including our exclusive newsletter, join our Kitchen Cabinet today:


👉 patreon.com/politicalcurrency

👉 Apple Podcasts


Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.


Credits:

Production: Sam Burton

Producer: Caillin McDaid

Video Editor: Oliver Geraghty, Louis Norris & Sam Gruet

Executive Producer: Henrietta Harrison


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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Political Currency

Ed Balls and George Osborne take us behind closed doors into the rooms where decisions are made. Having battled it out across the despatch box, the former Chancellor and shadow chancellor now meet in the studio to discuss the decisions that affect the nation’s pockets. Our frenemies have the knowledge and experience to explain how good politics follows the economics - and expose how the powerful become powerless when faced with market forces and political currents they can’t control. Join us every Thursday.


Send your messages or voice notes to [email protected]


Find us on social media @polcurrency


Political Currency is a Persephonica production.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • No. of episodes: 330
  • Latest episode: 2026-10-29
  • News Politics

Where can you listen?

Apple Podcasts Logo Spotify Logo Podtail Logo Google Podcasts Logo RSS

Episodes