British politics has been dominated this week by the horrifying murder of student Henry Novak and the political storm that followed the release of police bodycam footage. Ed Balls and George Osborne examine the tragedy, the questions it raises around “two-tier policing” and the political firestorm it has ignited. The pair analyse the contrasting responses from Nigel Farage, Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch. Has Farage gone too far in his ‘emergency address to the nation’ in which he called for “cold rage”. Is this the path for someone who wants to be PM or a return to the political margins? And while Badenoch has found her strongest footing on such cultural issues, can the Conservatives afford to focus on them when the economy remains the central battleground?They then turn to the Makerfield by-election, where Andy Burnham is navigating a local contest and a national movement. As questions grow about his leadership ambitions, can he campaign as both constituency candidate and potential prime minister? And what do the latest Mandelson files reveal about the state of Labour's government and the pressure building on Starmer?Finally, Ed and George take a brief look at Germany where Chancellor Friedrich Merz is struggling in the polls just a year into office. With a popular regional leader already being discussed as a successor, are there lessons for Britain from Berlin's political troubles?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👉 TikTokThanks 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 PodcastsPlease note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.Credits:Research: Sam BurtonProduction: Sarah Beaumont & Nasreen ArainVideo Editor: Sam GruetExecutive Producer: Ellie Clifford & Henrietta HarrisonPolitical Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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