Anecdotes from political life

Fresh off the absolute victory for the Greens in Gorton and Denton, Ed Balls and George Osborne debate whether the betting markets - which accurately predicted the results - are reliable forecasters in elections in this week’s EMQs. George ponders if, unlike official polling, it might be possible to influence the odds in your favour?

Fellow ex-MP Gyles Brandreth asks the brutally honest question: did their careers peak when they were politicians? Despite all their success in podcasting and elsewhere, was being in government the best days of their lives? The pair debate the idea which ends up causing them to reminisce about Michael Gove’s dog and a chicken named Gordon.

Finally, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire David Skaith asks the best way a mayor can promote growth in their region, particularly one as rural as his. After offering David some useful ideas, the pair wander down a Wuthering Heights tangent and Ed gifts listeners with his slightly dubious Kate Bush impression. David also asks Ed for some personal advice on being a public figure with a stammer.

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.

This podcast is sponsored by Chip. Join 400,000 customers building long term wealth. Also Chip have agreed that just for our listeners, for your first £10,000 deposited into Chip before midnight 20 March 2026, they’ll give you a Fortnum & Mason hamper after holding it for 90 days - just head to getchip.uk/politicalcurrency.

T&Cs apply, you must be a new Chip customer, over 18, a UK tax resident, and it’s app only. Chip is a trading name of Chip Financial Limited. Savings products are provided by Clearbank and are protected up to the FSCS limit. When investing, your capital is at risk.

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:

Research: Sam Burton

Production: Caillin McDaid, Caitlin Hanrahan & Eve Jones 

Video Editor: Avi Asher

Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford

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

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