Is winter fuel U-turn a leadership 'fiasco' for Labour?

<p>Did someone say U-turn? Ed Balls and George Osborne have been saying it for a while, actually, when it comes to the matter of the controversial winter fuel tax cut. Now that the government has walked it back, will it do the trick and soothe voters and ease tensions with Labour MPs? Ed thinks the approach is “politically and technically messy”. George, for his part, thinks it’s nothing short of a damaging “fiasco” for Labour.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Meanwhile, David Lammy announced this week the suspension of trade talks with Israel, in light of the escalating violence in Gaza. Does this signal a shift in the UK-Israel relations? And will it make much difference to the crisis if it does? George isn’t so sure…&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Plus, the pair discuss the newly-minted, post-Brexit deal with the EU - did Britain make the right calls and the right concessions? And a trip down banking regulation memory lane: is it time to wind back bank ringfencing, an ongoing legacy from the Osborne era?</p><br /><p>And a reminder, we’re doing our first Political Currency live show - we’ll be taking to the stage on Thursday 5th June 2025 at SXSW London. Want a chance to grab a FREE ticket and a pass to the WHOLE six day business conference, worth £600?! <a href="http://patreon.com/politicalcurrency" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sign up to be a Kitchen Cabinet member</a> to hear how you can get your hands on a ticket!&nbsp;</p><br /><p>To get episodes early and ad-free, join <strong>Political Currency Gold</strong> or the <strong>Kitchen Cabinet</strong>:</p><p>&nbsp;👉<a href="https://www.patreon.com/politicalcurrency" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> patreon.com/politicalcurrency</a></p><p> 👉<a href="https://apple.co/politicalcurrency" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Apple Podcasts</a></p><br /><p><em>Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.</em></p><br /><p>Producer: Miriam Hall</p><p>Senior Producer: Silvia Maresca</p><p>Video Editor: Oliver Geraghty&nbsp;</p><p>Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford</p><br /><p>Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.&nbsp;</p><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>