<p>The war in the middle east has entered its third week. Tensions rose overnight when Israel hit a natural gas field in Iran, and Iran retaliated by bombing gas facilities in Qatar. The result was oil prices skyrocketing. Ed Balls and George Osborne discuss what appears to be a communication breakdown between Israel and the US, and question whether they are aligned in their respective endgames.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Earlier this week the Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave the Mais lecture at the Bayes Business School.&nbsp;She said fiscal devolution, closer relations with Europe, AI and innovation would bring growth in the UK. But was the speech too partisan and lacking economic theory?</p><br><p>And, Angela Rayner is back - delivering a speech criticising the government’s proposed immigration reforms. Is she planning to stick the knife in Keir Starmer, à la Michael Heseltine and Margaret Thatcher, and if so - does she have the right qualifications to lead the country? Ed and George look at past transitions mid-government for Labour and more widely, and examine how Rayner’s strengths and weaknesses may impact her chances at No. 10.</p><br><p>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.</p><br><p>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 &amp; Mason hamper after holding it for 90 days - just head to getchip.uk/politicalcurrency.</p><br><p><em>T&amp;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.</em></p><br><p>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:</p><br><p>👉 <a href="http://patreon.com/politicalcurrency" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">patreon.com/politicalcurrency</a></p><p>👉 <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ng/podcast/political-currency/id1706536336" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a></p><br><p>Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.</p><br><p>Credits:</p><br><p>Research: Sam Burton</p><p>Production: Caillin McDaid &amp; Henrietta Harrison&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Video Editor: Avi Asher</p><p>Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford</p><br><p>Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>