How Labour made a political scandal worse

<p>Keir Starmer has caved and returned thousands of pounds in freebies given to him by a Labour donor, in an attempt to close a rather embarrassing chapter for the government. But has he successfully hosed it down? Ed Balls and George Osborne consider whether it's a textbook case of what <em>not</em> to do when you have a PR snafu on your hands.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Meanwhile, tensions are escalating in the Middle East. Is there a risk of the conflict intensifying, or is the situation under control? And what does it mean for the West?</p><br /><p>And with the highly anticipated budget now merely weeks away, they take a look at what Rachel Reeves has on her plate. Is this shaping up to be the “relaunch” budget Labour needs, or are we on the verge of a new era of anti-growth…</p><br /><p><br /></p><p>Become a member of POLITICAL CURRENCY GOLD 🏅 to support the podcast, enjoy ad-free listening to all our episodes and receive early access to EMQs.</p><br /><p>Subscribe now: patreon.com/politicalcurrency or on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/politicalcurrency</p><br /><p><br /></p><p>Production support: Caillin McDaid</p><p>Producers: Rosie Stopher and Miriam Hall</p><p>Executive Producers: Ellie Clifford</p><br /><p>Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network. </p><br /><p><br /></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>