How bad could the by-election be for Labour?
February 19, 2026
1 hr 2 min
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256
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Episode 256 · February 19, 2026
How bad could the by-election be for Labour?
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Political Currency Episodes Around February 19, 2026
Episode 254 of 291 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
1:02:19This episodeHow bad could the by-election be for Labour?
Summary
<p>We’re one week from the Gorton and Denton by-election, which could prove another brutal blow to Keir Starmer’s already unstable premiership. Could Reform gain another MP or will this be the Green Party’s first by-election victory? And is a Labour hold out of the question? </p><br /><p>Ed Balls and George Osborne explore the state of play for the parties, including the U-turn on postponing 30 local elections, the Labour Together scandal, and Reform unveiling their ‘shadow cabinet’. </p><br /><p>Then, following last weekend’s Munich Security Conference, the pair turn their attention to further calls for Europe to increase defence spending. The question for the UK is: can the Treasury afford the proposed 3% defence spending by the end of the parliament? And would the British public accept spending cuts needed to hit that target? </p><br /><p>Finally, George gives the inside scoop on the AI Impact Summit in India. He explains what opportunities and concerns are being addressed by world leaders, as well as why it represents an achievement for Britain.</p><br /><p>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.</p><br /><p>Thanks 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:</p><br /><p>👉 <a href="http://patreon.com/politicalcurrency" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">patreon.com/politicalcurrency</a></p><p>👉 <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ng/podcast/political-currency/id1706536336" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a></p><br /><p>Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon.</p><br /><p>Credits:</p><br /><p>Research: Sam Burton</p><p>Production: Caillin McDaid & Caitlin Caitlin Hanrahan </p><p>Video Editor: Avi Asher</p><p>Executive Producer: 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>
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