Defections, coalitions and China-UK relations

<p>Rishi Sunak lives to fight another day after some terrible local election results. But as he loses yet another MP to Labour, Ed Balls and George Osborne ask whether it might be time to play a new strategy and try acting the underdog.</p><br /><p>Meanwhile, whilst Labour had a markedly better weekend, it didn’t quite indicate the 1997-style landslide they might be hoping for in the next general election. Is Keir Starmer on track for a small majority? And if so, how should he manage it?</p><br /><p>And in foreign affairs, the UK is notably absent from President Xi Jinping’s European itinerary this week. How did Sino-UK relations end up here, and how would a prime minister - current or future - get back on track?</p><br /><p>Become a member of POLITICAL CURRENCY GOLD 🏅 to support the podcast, enjoy ad-free listening to all our episodes, receive early access to EMQs and Inside The Room, and to live show tickets. Try for free: <a href="http://patreon.com/politicalcurrency" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">patreon.com/politicalcurrency</a> or on Apple Podcasts: <a href="http://apple.co/politicalcurrency" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">apple.co/politicalcurrency</a></p><br /><p>Remember to send us your questions to questions@politicalcurrency.co.uk</p><br /><p>Producers: Rosie Stopher and Ned Miles</p><p>Production support: Miriam Hall</p><p>Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith</p><p>Executive Producers: Dino Sofos and 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 href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>