Why no one can 'land a glove' on Farage

About this episode

Ed Balls and George Osborne discuss recent events in UK politics, including the Mandelson scandal and the upcoming local elections.

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… We love hearing from you, so…

People in this episode

Host: Political Currency

Guests: Ed Balls, George Osborne

Topics covered

• UK politics
• local elections
• assisted dying
• Kemi Badenoch
• Keir Starmer
• Mandelson scandal
• Boris Johnson era

Keywords

• UK politics
• Kemi Badenoch
• Keir Starmer
• local elections
• assisted dying
• Mandelson scandal
• Boris Johnson

Mentioned in this episode

Places: UK, US

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