Islamophobia, Truss conspiracies and budget friction

<p>George reveals it was Sajid Javid who told Rishi Sunak to strip Lee Anderson of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/24/lee-anderson-stripped-of-tory-whip-over-sadiq-khan-comment" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">whip</a>, after comments that have been slammed as Islamophobic and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-68433463" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hate speech</a>. But on the broadcast rounds, the Conservative party line is to stop short, saying the “words were wrong” – over and over and over again. How would George and Ed tackle the furore, and why do they think Rishi Sunak should take a hard line and not “leave junior ministers out to dry”?</p><br /><p>All the while, next week’s budget is causing friction between No. 10 and No. 11 – will Downing Street get the tax cuts they’re hoping for? And how will Jeremy Hunt be preparing for what could be his last budget as chancellor?&nbsp;</p><br /><p>And, is the real issue that the country simply isn’t growing? Prof. Ed Balls is back to explain to George why the government needs to take a <a href="https://sites.harvard.edu/uk-regional-growth/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">regional approach</a> if it wants the economy to boom.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Follow us on social media: @polcurrency and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Producers: Rosie Stopher&nbsp;</p><p>Production support: Miriam Hall&nbsp;</p><p>Production Manager: Flick Heath</p><p>Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and Ellie Clifford</p><br /><p>With thanks to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.</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 href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>