logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2024
31m 17s

ELECTION EXTRA: Manifestos, Macron and M...

Persephonica
About this episode

Have the wheels well and truly fallen off the Conservative election campaign? After a dismal D-Day debacle and news that social media campaigning is suspended, Ed Balls and George Osborne question whether Rishi Sunak is just giving up.


Regardless, it’s manifesto launch week for the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems, and an opportunity for each party to commit to their election promises. But do manifestos actually matter? And what’s going on behind the scenes as they’re finalised?


And election chaos seems to be spreading - in the aftermath of far-right success at the EU election, French President Emmanuel Macron has called a snap election. How does this bode for the UK’s own election?



We’ve got election fever, so we're launching this ELECTION EXTRA Hot Take! 🏅 Subscribe to POLITICAL CURRENCY GOLD party, to get the episodes a day early, on Monday, as well as EMQs on a Friday and every episode ad-free!


Producer: Rosie Stopher

Executive Producer: Dino Sofos

Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith


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

Subscribe now on Patreon.


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



Subscribe now on Patreon

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

Up next
Jul 7
EMQs: Our Keir Year, modern Machiavellis and fairness in politics
What is a fair way to govern? In response to a long time listener who feels a victim of his own success – disproportionately hit by taxes and ineligible for certain benefits – Ed Balls explains three different philosophical concepts of ‘fairness’. George Osborne meanwhile dismiss ... Show More
37m 57s
Jul 3
Week from Hell for Reeves and Starmer
Some incredible scenes in PMQs this week - in which Chancellor Rachel Reeves was openly crying - has Ed Balls and George Osborne considering just how bad things have got for the Labour government. Mere days after a dramatic climbdown over welfare reform, when the watered-down bil ... Show More
56m 6s
Jun 30
EMQs: Can the G20 still keep the peace?
Is the G20 still a force for peace and diplomacy, or just a stage for political performance? Ed Balls and George Osborne kick off this week’s EMQs with a question about nuclear non-proliferation and whether South Africa should push it up the agenda this year.The pair then turns t ... Show More
43 m
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2024
The Lesson From French and British Elections: Incumbents Beware
French voters shocked the world on Sunday by rejecting Marine Le Pen’s efforts to see her far-right National Rally party take control of France’s legislature. And across the channel in Britain, a new government is set to enter parliament on Tuesday after voters last week gave the ... Show More
17m 50s
Jul 2024
Why the far right is winning in Europe, with Yanis Varoufakis
In the recent European elections, the far right won unprecedented gains. From the success of the AfD in Germany, to Le Pen’s National Rally in France, the elections saw nationalist and eurosceptic parties sweep up nearly a quarter of the seats in the European parliament. In the U ... Show More
42m 42s
Apr 29
Farage’s hopes for a Reform storm
Nigel Farage is throwing the kitchen sink at Labour and he’s not being subtle about it. As Reform UK ramps up its local election efforts, Farage is fielding candidates in councils up and down the country. But the real showdown is in Runcorn and Helsby, where Reform is plotting a ... Show More
30m 9s
Apr 2022
Macron versus Le Pen: The fight to be the French president
On Sunday voters will go to the polls in France in a repeat of 2017’s run off between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. So what issues are coming up on the campaign trail? What are the prospects for the incumbent? And could the far right populist triumph in a key election for th ... Show More
35m 40s
Jun 2024
What Snap Elections in France Mean For Europe and the World
Elections for the European Parliament saw sweeping gains for far-right parties in Germany and France. It was in France that these election results led to the surprising—and very daring—decision by Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call for snap elections. The first round ... Show More
26m 16s
Nov 2024
What to expect on US election night
The dollar weakened on Monday as global markets reined in their bets on a victory for Donald Trump in the US presidential election, and the Financial Times’ James Politi explains what to look out for as results trickle in. Plus, Spain’s prime minister is facing political backlash ... Show More
11m 22s
May 30
Who’s afraid of Nigel Farage?
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Reform party leader Nigel Farage clashed on economic issues this week. Farage said his party was the champion of the working class, while Starmer warned Farage’s proposed spending rises amounted to “fantasy promises”. Host George Parker is joined b ... Show More
35m 19s
Jul 2024
U.K. Labour Party Sweeps to Power in Election Landslide
A.M. Edition for July 5th. After shedding its more radical policies and members, Britain’s Labour Party hands the ruling Conservatives the worst defeat in the party’s 190-year history. The Journal’s Max Colchester explains how Keir Starmer led Labour to victory on a pledge to end ... Show More
14m 41s
Apr 28
Why Peter Dutton’s campaign has not gone to plan
With just days to go before election day, the Liberal party’s campaign has been defined by major shifts on policies and candidate scandals. It has left some supporters and MPs scratching their heads. While the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, began the campaign attempting to reca ... Show More
25m 58s
Sep 2024
Grand Barnier: France’s new prime minister
Two months ago, French politics was thrown into crisis after a snap election left no party with a clear majority. Michel Barnier, the new prime minister, has a huge task ahead. Donald Trump’s campaign took time to adjust to the nomination of Kamala Harris. Now he’s on the attack ... Show More
25m 5s