About this episode

Ed Balls and George Osborne discuss the implications of the local elections fallout for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party.

The fallout of the local elections was as many had predicted, but the chaotic aftermath demanded a reaction. Ed Balls and George Osborne went live on YouTube earlier today to give their thoughts on just how bad things are for Keir Starmer. They reflect on the heavy defeat Labour suffered on Thursday, and the prime minister’s fightback. Why did he bring back Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman? Why did he stake things on today’s speech with a King’s Speech in only two days? The biggest question mark of all though, is Catherine West. The little known MP created an earthquake over the weekend by announcing she would challenge the PM if no one else would. She has now pivoted to calling for a timetable, but still has damaged Starmer, and placed all eyes on what Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting, and Angela Rayner do next… 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 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…

People in this episode

Hosts: Ed Balls, George Osborne

Topics covered

• local elections
• Labour Party
• political analysis
• Keir Starmer
• Catherine West
• UK politics

Keywords

• local elections
• Labour Party
• Keir Starmer
• Catherine West
• political analysis

More episodes of Political Currency

• Did Farage go too far or score political points this week? · June 4, 2026 · 1h 6m
• EMQs: Is Makerfield the UK’s presidential election? · May 31, 2026 · 45 min
• Is Tony Blair the Logan Roy of Britain? · May 28, 2026 · 1h 20m
• EMQs: Should retired politicians go on Question Time? · May 24, 2026 · 38 min
• Burnham, Streeting, and Rayner’s race to No. 10 · May 21, 2026 · 1h 5m
• EMQs: Should we vote on weekends? · May 17, 2026 · 32 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Political Currency podcast page.