Centrist Dad Band and Closing Remarks

Still waiting in line Again That's time you will never get back. Save time and money with stamps dot comot Over four million businesses have skipped the line with stamps dot com. Join them to save up to ninety percent of carrier rates from your computer or phone right now Print posted for certified mail, registered mail, and packages in seconds. Then schedule a pickup right from your home or office. For a limited time, go to stamps. com and use code podcast for a free welcome gift. tax a fe a. You want to get your backyard summer ready, but you don't want to break the bank? Wayfare gets it. Pning on dining alfresco or relaxing poolside Wayfair has everything you need to prep your space. Shop now and save up to seventy percent off during Wayfare's Fth of July clearance. Score huge deals on outdoor furniture, area rugs, and more. We're talking thousands of products for every style and budget. Plus, sururprise Flash Deals July sixth. Don't wait. Shop Wayfare's Fth of July clelearance now through july six at wayfare dot com d Pay fair, every style, every home. The Chancellor of the Exchquer. Getting a lesson from the Shadow Chancellor on how to balance the books, iss like getting a lesson from Dracula on how to look after a blood bank Ed Balls A steady as she goes budget. What kind of ship does he think he's on? the Titanic? Mry Celeste. Welcome to EMQs from Political Currency with Ed Balls and George Osborne So hello and welcome to EMQ's EX Ministers Questions. And this is the programm where we you know we go abroad. We like to be talk about religion, art politics, science, AI George has just got off a plane anything This week, you've been Wing wild flying, any books, any movies, any cultural recommendations You know, I watched a really good movie on the way. to Washington an old movie or oldish movie. Paris, Texas by Vim Venders It's an absolutely brilliant movie. It's a sort of American road movie, a sort of Odyssey movie, Tal of which I'm really looking forward to the Odyssey coming out in a months time. And it stars Natasha Kinsky, who was the guy of G sort of film star of the seventies and eighties. Anways as opposted to Natasha Koplinsky, who was the dess television presenter and one strictly in the first series. It's interesting when I actually looked her up, I thought I don't know enough about Natashakinskin, and then I realized I was actually reading that Natasha Kopinsky by mistake. But Anyay T big stars a Stageation Sreen. Yeah, anyyway, it's a really beautifully short very kind of emotional movie set in Texas, not in Paris. And then I just noticed today that there's been a big row about An earlier movie that Vin Venders did And Vin Veners is this kind of great European film director who's, I think this week being honored by the German Film Academy and something anyway. One of his early movies is a ten years earlier movie my comp's name with Natasha. Nasha Kinsky You've got me now getting confused. Nashkinsky. he has she's nude in the movie and she's only thirteen years old when it was shot And she has been She she's to liive, there al lifeive she has been complaining about this for years and saying that movie should be withdrawn from circulation And he's always refused and he's always like, well, youve differentifferent times, different morals, you can't startop interpreting, you know pass through our moral lens. Anyway, he has this week agreed edit the movie, which is the simplest thing to do just remove the scene of her nude to remove it from all distribution and it will be un W watchable because he would rather do that than just kind of chop out the bits that are unacceptable now U Anyway, it was all total coincidence. it was one of this not coincidence.s one of those things where, you know, Sunday or more alert stories about Natasha Kkinsky and Vinveendors. Anyway we are here in Paris, Texas is a great movie and there's a There's no nudity in that We are here giving our wider EMQ listeners an insight into what we do for our kitchen cabinet members every week where we talk a little bit about culture and things which we've read and seen. I am arrived at Houston station last Saturday, last Friday to get the train up to the Lake District to climb Hell Vllin, which we'll come back to later in the show. And I had just finished that hillock in the lake District actually it's actually a mountain. And I had just read and done for kitchen cabinet The new books by Elizabeth Strout and Tyler U was it Anne Patchett and both of them And I so I went on to Claude and said, if I like these books, what else should I read And they gave me a list and one of them was on the shelves in Houston WH Smith, which was Hotel Delac by Anitaruckkner Um, which is like, you know Early eighties I think But it's a great book. It won the book of prize didn't it? It won the book of prize and I bought it and had it read by the time I got off the train on the way back down from the Lakes on Sunday. And so I'm now reading I've just ordered another couple of Anita Booklers, so that's my new rediscovery. I think I've seen the film. I'd never actually there was a BBC film, but I've never read the book before. It's really good. Anyway. Now talkking about books that we need to read. Talking about books We are going to talk about this book. We've both been sent the book that was published this week by Jeremy Hunt. Can we be rich again? and Our first question is from erem Hunt Hi, George and Ed. thanks for the terrific podcast. Jeremy Hunt here, a former Chancellor who has just published this week my book, Can We Be Rich Again And one of the observations I make in it is that any Chancellor, because the impact of economic reforms can often take four or five years to show through, needs to do any big reforms really quickly when they arrive in office. Otherwise they just don't have enough political capital to get anything through. Is this advice that you agree with And would you give it to any new chancellor that we may end up seeing this year? So this is interestnteresting question and idea. and I'm not sure I fully agree with Jeremy There are times when chancellors do B reforms at the beginning of their end time in offices to get them And you know, when we came into government in ninety seven, clearly we made the Bank of England independent, but started off tax credit and reform and you kind started off with big reforms around Clearly the spending review and VAT and fiscal policy make the difficult decisions early. But when I think about if you think about Nigel Lawson His big corporate tax reform was were nineteen eighty four, beginning of his Chancellororsship But he'd actually been in the treasury for a while before that. his personal tax reforms I don't think it happened until five years later until nineteen eighty nine Gordon Brown, although we started working on it Health service tax rise was too.ay in eighty seven. Sorry Persal fs Wedding say I thought it was when he abolishes independent taxation? Oh I see that sorry, of introduces independent taxation on women. I thought you were talking about the big reduction in I was actually thinking more at the structural reform. Yeah. I thought the structural reform was eighty nine. I might be wrong about that. Gordon Brown Health Service reform for the National Insurance Tax Rvise was two thousand one two Petition policy reform, which is a big reform two thousand one. There's times when Jerey Even if you have your eye on a reform You have to prepare the ground and do things over a period of years, even get a second mandate from an election. So it doesn't always have to happen at the start. And then there's other reforms where in some ways What matters is even a change of government. if you think about auto enrollment for pensions started under the Ground Chancellorship, taken forward by Alistair Darling. then by you. The reason why that's lasted is it was consensual. I made the argument last week on our podcast that when it comes to social care, it's only going to last if you overtly go after consensuual Fross party Parliament reform. So while I agree with Jeremy that sometimes to move early I don't think that's always the case Yeah, I'm with you. I think Jeremy is being a little bit sort of pessimistic. I mean I think about your sort political space to do things and it might speak more to his experiences as Chancellor and the sort of tail end of the Sun that government. when the kind of whole government's running out of political authority and people know there's going to be a change of government. and then it's much harder to announce big reforms over several years because people say, ye you're not going to be around, mate and who knows what's going you know, happen when the labour lock get in U I think where he's right is that usually the first budget, particularly when you're coming out of opposition There are only changes of government when something's gone wrong because that's why the country iss kicking out The incumb govern and it's usually economic And normally The government's been kicked out because it's exhausted, it has no political authority, and it's not been able to do anything about the economic situation. So then the new government comes in and has all the authority and the mandate Crucially if they bothered to create one to do things and So I think, you know, if you look at, you know, possibly the thing Gordon Brown will be most famous for forever will be Bank of England, which is a very early in fact first week decision, isn't it, which you would obviously intimately involved in And I think my first budget which I dubbed the emergency budget is the one where I cut spending and I increase VAT And I increase the state pension age and all these things, which are very difficult but other kind of, you know, the cood liver oil to solve the problem was facing at the time, as I prescribed it, and had the ground had been laid before the election. so there was no kind of sense of betrayal And we've done a lot of thking about it So that is true that often you're you're kind of budget is your first one. And Jeremy Hunts most famous budget is of course the one where he has to sort out the mess of Liz Truss Um and reverse lots of things and you know stabilize the situation to his eternal credit and the credit You know, for the whole country which it was required U But I think you're right that it's a mistake then to think that's it. And you know using my own experienceces as Chancell, I ended up giving eight budgets. I remember after the So I did the big one in twenty ten. that was a lot of my ideas that I developed a shadow chance over the previous years. And then you get to u the sort of twenty eleven budget and it's a bit of a damp scriib because I've sort of Oh, I've done all my big things and they're now underway and they're being Lglate for twenty twelve is the one that unravels because I'm trying fifty p race attack. So that is a kind of big decision, but it's quite narrow. Is that the one we call the Ombleli champ Edge Miliband. D you come up with that No, I think it was actually the teleggramph Daily and emailing it Yeah. Yes, I think it was Ben Brogen who first used Oish Chem. Thanks, Ben. But the, u, but I remember thinking like, u You know, There's more to this job than just sort of seeing through the things I came into to sort of solve and deal with the deficit And and these you know you never know whether this budget's your last budget as Chancellor You know, who knows whether Rachel Reeves will ever given another budget And u And I kind of rejuvenate, I sort of re energize myself to think like, come on, what are the big things we could do And I was also by then much more experienced you know, how to make the treasury work and how to make government work. And so in my later budgets, I did things like reform the pension system You know, radical reform of the pension system out of the blue, no one expecting it prebriefed at all or the whole Northern powerhouse concept on the creation of the Manchester Mayor that Andy Burnham now occupies or the sugar tax, you know, my last budget. againgain, I didn't know it was going to be my last budget, but I had an inkling. It was probably my last budget even if I was going you know, survivive in the government And I thought was a thing that will you know, is memorable and a kind of lasting reform And so I think that Jmy, I think it's too And it took years to improduce the sugar texts and I'd long since left and Some of the decisions I took like, you know, funding the Elizabeth line, you know were't open uil F six years after I'd left office So I'm not sure I totally agree with that. I think the kind of emergency stuff Yes. tax rises pretty hard to do if you don't do them initially. but You know, it's a mistake for a Chancellor or a prrime mininister to sort of then just run out of steam While we are talking about the treasury, can we just mark a moment Today Yes. is the retirement of Kevid. Yes. who has been the messenger and kind of organize the Chancellors and office in terms of, you know, he was a guy came in Coffee and tea He has been there for forty years. I don't know whet whether his first Chancellor was Nigel Laws. was John Major was the United, it was Lwson. I remember, I think having a conversation astonishinges. and nobody has had bigger rings side seat in British politics from the ERM crisis through the financial crisis and the Omnich Sambles budget and The quasi quarting I love why you just string my like pasty taxs in with the global financial crisis and the home this trust is in place. Excuse me You don't get with that. Kevin when L you didite a long you did quite a long puff on your time in the treasy. So I thought I'd just put a bit of balance in. Kevin was there all the time. when he came in the room, Chancellors never stopped speaking, did they? They always carried on talking about the issue of the day, the most sensitive problems because you always knew Kevin. discretion Total professional He was the guy in two thousand three Bowman was the Chancell's Pinci of S secretary and and I, we had the treasuries fiveive test assessment And we hadn't shared it with Nber Ted. and we just said to Kevin Go and deliver it to Jeremy Hywward with a letter from Mark say, here is the five test assessment. Kevin delivered the assessment to Jeremy in person. Jeremy Heaywward tried to give it back to him and say, I don't want to receive this. and. It was like a subpoena do. He didn't want to know you once you've been kind of served, you don't want to had been served But I mean Kevin. What a guy Yes. No it is I assume you have I've sent a message. I think they're putting they're doing a big event and is I've just one. Yes, he's been the treasury's messenger. He brought in the coffee and the tea. He brought over the red boxes lateater night. He's a lovely guy And yeah, what what what he has seen over the years. What he has seen Chancellors come and go, but Kevin remained Jeremy Haywood when he was Normal ammongst private sector changed the system so that Kevin was incentivized to both make savings. He was always very careful about public money, Kevin. mean, it wasn't possible to go and nick the milk of Kevin's fridge. but he was always incentivised to on the one hand sort of Nest Cafe coffee. there was no There was no barista going on there. But he was but he was paid by the cup. So Kevin would come in with a cup a new cup of coffee like every fifteen minutes and you couldn't say no because you' denying it was I mean, I tell you the amount of Coffee I've drunk off Kevin stuck in that little room with Gordon Brown I'm typing away at his speech. Oh my goodness. anyyway. Have a good retirement, Kevin. Yes. Thank you Our next question is from Eleanor. Hi, Ed and George. It's Eleanor Hallam here, a regular listener. I love your work So I've been following the public discourse around AI being a force for good or bad in the world with much interest One of the biggest contributions to the debate came on Monday. when the Pope delivered his first encyclical on this very topic expressing serious concern that AI could be a force for bad, especially if it's not met with sufficient regulation and care, both from within the industry but also from governments You've discussed religion in recent EMQs, and of course you, George fed into the debate at the Vatican on your recent visit to Rome So my questions', what are your reactions to the Pope's comments And what impact do you think they will have, particularly in the UK context Thanks so much. So first of all, I thought like it was a very smart and interesting move by the new pope Tackle. AI is his first big topic and It was very deliberate. I mean, there's a suggestion that he actually chose the name Leo in as an echo of a previous Pope Leo Leo the thirteenth. you know, he's Leo the fourteenth. Well the Larars Leo, the over thirteenth issued a similar kind of document back in eighteen ninety one did one of these encyyclicals And it was all about the industrial revolution and the humanity of the workforce and the treatment of the workforce in the industrial Revolution. And you know that this Pope is framing his papacy around this challenge of AI The whole the That's why he' chosen the name Leo as an echo of previous Pope who engaged with the technological change at the time of of in the nineteenth century That's I think really interesting. Second, you know, I think he's actually been very careful in the way he's gone about it So he is not he's not a Ludite He's not saying AI is a terrible thing at all. You know, he actually at times says that it's a kind of marvelous he calls it an exceptional product of human genius. And of course, I guess if you're You know, I'm not a Catholic, You know, all of these things are in some senses kind of human creations, but also God's creations and So he's he's not sort of anti the technology And he says it has a potential to do a lot of good then he is clear of where he thinks the risks are There's a whole section on the use of AI and warfare and quite understandably the Catholic Church concerned about that as it is more broadly about conflicts Th then there's a very interesting set of things. There's also stuff around youth protection of children and so on But there's also there's very interesting, I think at the heart of it is this, you know, that you that Part of all of this technology must be human dignity The machines must serve the people, not the people serving the machines. and I absolutely agree with that and u I think it's where the AI companies themselves are heading I think then to answer the kind of second question which is Does it matter? Is anyone going to pay any attention? and so on I think the answer is it does, and I tell you for this reason. I mean, first of all, the Catholic Church is obviously a huge and influential organization all over the world and has a particularly strong presence in , you know, the developing world But second, we're at a time when the rules on AI are being written So the laws don't exist at the moment. There are some They're emerging. But countries like the United States, this week, President Trump issued the first kind of executive order on AI regulation For example, EU has just issued some AI regulation. British government' talking about it. In fact, we've got London Tech Wek coming up where Various ministers are talking about AI regulation So this is sort of, you know, virgin territory. It's sort of the laws aren't there yet And so I think if you kind of insert yourself into that process with with real thinking and intellectually thought through argument then I think you can have an influence and that can come from the papacy as it just like it can come from others. I'm not saying they're the, you know, only source of wisdom on this But I think it can be quite influential and it will start to shape, it just sort of helps shape the debate from which know the parliaments and the governments of the world will eventually draw the laws I very much agree. Good question from Eleanor who actually know Eleenish ex Treasury civil serervant did her PhD at ten Kings on the financial crisis obviously follows the details of our podcast very carefully because she knows all about our religious speculation of recent weeks. Interestingly, I don't agree with every papal encyclical and you know the popes who said we should forgive all debt never seemed to be quite in the real world The parallel is actually twenty third who's nineteen sixty three encyclical A the Cuban missile crisis, on the subject of the danger and threat of nuclear weapons saying that we don't have rules of the game, that humanity has to come together. We have to kind of draw up a framework. so that we can deal with the threat and and make sure that we manage this clean as you say Um, And the new Pope isn't saying this is all you threat equivalent to nuclear weapons, but he is saying there are L lots of potential dangers to kind of equality, but also to war and peace if you allow autonomous AI to run riot And and he says, you can't leave it to a few. You can't leave it to the invisible hand. that interesting quotes where he says AI systems do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships, do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility can mean It says technology is never neutral because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise for to regulate and use it AI to be disarmed, not by rejecting it, but by preventing it from running riots says it can't be just managed by by a few. I think you and I, both of us those sentiments in the last couple of years talking about this because although you're now working in that world you've always agreed that there has to be a framework Reulatory rules are the game. can't just run riot that you can't allow individual countries to use AI in a way which would be dangerous for kind of w piece And As with Pope John the twenty third in nineteen sixty three, the Pope is leading and contributing and framing a a debate in kind of moral and human terms and so him I was just kind of struck while we were talking. I heard this on the telepgram this morning Well I just got sent the Press release Jessica Asato The Labour MP for Lowest stff in Suffolk is launching today legal action against Musk's AI company. for the creation of sexualized and abusive fake images and videos of her on I think that u put her into a cleaner and distributed the images. and she's taking legal action and you know, hoping that this would be a I, um lead to wider ion around deep fake pornography, sexualised contact around women and girls The reason why that's happening, I think leegally is being backed by the NSVCC is because at the moment the government iss not quite there, is it? They're not. no. I mean, there's a whole move on particularly sort of protection of This is about notification, but there's a G seven' summit in the next couple of weeks, hosted by France in Evia as in the famous mineral waterater And one of the topics is youth protection of children and teenagers in a world of AI. and some of the big the big AI you know founders like Sam Mtman are going So I would say that there is sort of emerging kind of international conversations and domestic conversations about regulation, coordination patrol You know, the problem is it takes place at a time of intense competition between the United States and China over this competition over this technology and You know, neither side wants to kind of hamper the development of the technology in a way that might kind of hand the advantage to the other country. But You know, as you were saying in the nineteen sixties, even at the you know, height of the Cold War, which was a lot more dangerous than the world is today Um You know, they were able to reach agreements in international inspection bodies like the International Atomic Energy Association like the International Atomic Energy Association were created And you know, treaties were reached on controlling missile development and So it is possible. and I think, you know, you are seeing the steps towards that And certainly the court case will be interesting if it proceeds is come back to Eleanor's question pap is at the heart of it all I may be unfailed, lawmakers, and Jessessato's press release says she first campaign for ban in twenty twenty four Um And the Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, produced amendments to the Crime and Policing Act in order to tightened the law here whether or not we're in a position yet to enforce that kind of legislation. I don't know. in a way, I think probably the courts are being used to push the regulators into faster and tougher action. but we will follow this Um, and um It's always good. to discuss religion. on political currency and to discuss AI and to discuss politics and Eleanor allowed The Trinity of religion AIN politics to come together in almost Bitually That'ity load of bocks Let's take a break Still waiting in line Again That's time you'll never get back Save time and money with stamps dot comot Over four million businesses have skipped the line with stamps dot comot Join them to save up to ninety percent off carrier rates from your computer or phone right now. Print postage for certified mail, registered mail, and packages in seconds, then schedule a pickup right from your home or office. For a limited time, go to stamps dot com and use code podcast for a free welcome gift Taxes and fees a lot. You want to get your backyard summer ready, but you don't want to break the bank? Wayfare gets it. Planning on dining alfresco or relaxing poolside Wayfair has everything you need to prep your space. Shop now and save up to seventy percent off during Wayfare's Fourth of July clearance. Score huge deals on outdoor furniture, area rugs, and more. We're talking thousands of products for every style and budget. Plus, surprise Flash Deals july sixth. Don't wait. Shop Wayfare's Fourth of July clearance now through july sixth at wayfare dot com d Pay fair, every style, every home. So welcome back. Here is a question this time from the other side of the world all the way from Australia. This is Jonathan, a gold subscriber living in Perth, Western Australia. I was reflecting on your recent comments around the changes to non DOM tax status And the fact that these were initially introduced by the Sunac government in march twenty four It was, I think, reported that ten thousand millionaires left the country in that year alone as a result It seems to me that these changes were brought in largely in response to the ongoing attacks on Rishi Sunak's wife of family wealth references to her tax status Would you agree with that And can you think of any previous examples of government policy? being driven by criticism of a member of the Prime Minister's immediate family I'd love to hear your thoughts So it kind I could recall in my memory the T I remember having a conversation about Jerey Hunter ass Chancellor and whether he would move on non Dom taxation in order to shoot Labour's fox. because if you remember at the time, Rachel Reeves was relying upon money coming in from Non Dum taxation tightening to fund pledges which Labour was making opposition on the health service and Jeremry Hunt then did just that and But was it only shooting the fox or was there also a worry in the mind of Richard Silak'srime Mister. personal issues in his family taxation were going to cause problems for the government and therefore tightening up the rules was with good politics as well. I just don't know whether that is correct or not Jonathan. and I maybe we need somebody else to provide the detail there. you I mean I think there's a broader point here, which is I'm not sure whether I can think of examples Prime Ministers choosing to change the law to suit a personal or family interest, but it's certainly the case that prrime ministers and to make sure that they that they act in a way which is consistent with and seemen to be consistent with Um the way everybody else is treat. Do you remember in the crown when Margaret Thatcher is worried about her disappearance of Mark Thatcher Um, in um desert The Parry Dakar Rally. V but she doesn't want the government to do anything for him which they wouldn't do for any other British citizen because she doesn't want to be advantaged and I think in this case, to the extent that the Rishish Son A was motivated, it it would be removing anything which could be see to be an advantage rather than treating. I mean, of course it's, you know It's a testament actually to the So the strengths of our democracy And' you know, often on the show, we are about the problems, but the strengths that you know, we're talking about lawmakers who go out of their way to sort of disadvantage themselves. Whereas in most kind of ruling systems and most times in history rulers have changed a system to enrich themselves and their families and Uh so so, you know, it's it's interesting that we're talking about the opposite here and I think there's no doubt It'sertainly in my mind that the tax status of Richinx wife No was very much, you know from an Indian family brought up in India was living in England Hs she had married Rishy they met in California, you know, so she kind of properly ticked to the kind of nnd dom status and what it was Creatate it for But there's no doubt that the row that that had caused which at the time looked like it was sort of finish off SNak's ambitions to be Prime Minister influenced all this. becausecause I think it was embarrassing And of course, it's quite the whole point about non dorm status was that you had an intention to leave Britain that you were not going to spend the rest of your life in Britain. Youd cllaim non state, you had to be able to say You had to have had to be realistic that you were not going to stay in Britain and that's quite hard if you were the prime Minister of Britain's family So I think it was influenced by them, and I think they also wanted to shoot Labour's fox. which is kind of classic you know told to do if you arere a smart government, you know,inch the pinch the opposition's policies and expose them. And it led to a little arms race when then Rachel Reef said, Okay, well we're going to go even further and we're going change the inheritance sex laws around rich people U I think it's done enormous damage in a way that is not really understood yet It's kindite a revealing conversation with someone earlier this year who said that they had left and they didn't have to tell HMLC for another year that they've left It's not that you have to tell people at the beginning of the tax year that you're gone It's only at the end of the tax year and then there are months after that before you actually have to file the tax return You say, Well actually in this year I wasn't in the UK for more than ninety days And I think you'll find quite a large number of people have gone. and I don't think the Treasury knows the numbers and I don't think the OBR particularly knows the numbers and whatever. And I think it's going to come as quite a shock And it was actually one of the things in the Tony Blair essay that needs correcting. It's really hard to do. I understand that, but required To the very specific question, are there any other examples? I was sort of racking my head? I mean, the only thing I can think of, but it's not really Did't Tony Blair change the rules to say that you could become Prime Minister if you were Catholic? Yet Didt think it was ever a but, wasn't it the sovereign who couldn't be Yes, you could have a cast ever since the u nineteenth century when they changed the laws about Catholics becoming MPs. It was a sovereign of The sovereign couldn't be Catholic. I see. Was that because Tony was convert and wanted to be sovereign Well No, I think wasn't it all part of the changes anyway to in case William and Kate had a daughter as well. They were changing the laws of succession. so Um There was no primogeniture of a male child over a female child But u It make rr on. the come back to like I was trying to think of it, you know, if there any other specific examples? The only thing I can think of is I think Certainly in recent decades. I mean, there's no doubt in my mind that David Cameron who faced a lot of criticism and inquiry into his and is fact had been to Eton and All of that and that was, you know, thrown at him constantly. I think as when it came to education policy and There were always sort of some toory ideas about like should we revive the assisted pllaces scheme, which is which you which Tony Blair'svernment rid of which is basically sort of government subsidies for people to study at private schools O more controversial, should we reintroduce grammar schools And I think David's own education background and the fact that he was always being kind of criticized for ill You know meant that he was much more lent into no, no, no, we're trying to improve education, comprehensive education for everyone. Um, And u You know, and his own children were going to were sent to local state schools and so on. So I think that It's the best parallel I can think of, but there may be others and maybe people listening can think of better examples over the years just to the record because of course you could be a Catholic and could be Primeinister for No, no not forever. That was just since they because you couldn't be an MP until the middle of the nineteenth century Okay, so u for a long time But my mind was recalling something. There was a debate about it in the new Labour years Tony Blair said it was too complicated and it wasn't done. He then converted to Catholicism in two thousand seven after leaving office and then it was your government. It was David Cameron changed the law to allow Roman Catholic to be in the line of succession And so that's what it happened. There we. That was why I knew that was I think it was part of this clearing up also that It was before Kate Before young George was born, because they also wanted to change the laws. It was quite complicated because you know You then had to get the other countries where the King is or quQueen is the head of state to agree. It's not str it's much more complicated than just passing a law in the House of Let's move on to another question. This one is from a member of Parliament from Josh McAllister, who is Minister for Children and Families and a mountain Rcue volunteer I had Hi George I'd just come home from a mountain rescue callout to a casualty who had been up Hellvellin and was walking back down. I know, Ed, that you were due to be walking up Heelvellin today, so I was relieved to find that you were not the casualty in questushon As well as being a volunteer in a mount and rescue team, I'm also a member of Parliament covering a beautiful patch in Cumbria the Western Lake district amongst other places So my question was What were the features of your constituencies that influenced you in ways that might have surprised you? And can you give examples of issues or causes that you picked up pretty distinctive to your own patch And secondly Were you jealous of any of your colleagues for representing beautiful places, for example Western Lake District So the answer, Josh is I was on Helibvellon on Saturday and actually when we got to the summit, we saw the mountain Rist The summit of the mount When we got to the summit, we saw the mountain rescue helicopter hovering over striding edge We'd actually gone up the other way r. we went up to Sttyicks Pass and up to Rays and then went down striding Eedge. which time the issue had been cleared. but is look I have to say Josh is a rising star. He's a very good Jior mininister to interview on Good Morning Britain because he he's very kind of good at handling the media. But the fact he also spends his time volunteering in the Mounted Rescue Service is brilliant and I think it shows know kind of real commitment, but also it's the kind of thing which will I'm sure we'll help him in his ministerial career. So congratulations to him. Well getting people tributed Is something with a helicopter Well, actually, you've actually seeen that do quite a lot about helicopters, that that wasn't what I was thinking. I wasious just sort of thinking public service. But it is questioned us is was there something distinctive? I mean, by the way brilliant to be a MP for the Lake District. But I was a member of Parliament for Maorley and Outwood. and I don't know whether you know this, George, but while we didn't have mountains and mountain rescue. Morgan outwward was Uh, the the rhubarb capital of Europe. It's where the It is where the forced rhubarb This is the ribver that comes in the spring. when's it come? But it's actually but also' grown in sheds under candlelight put the roots into the ground and they kind of grow. That's what happ inside and then in the warmth, but you transplant the roots. it's sweeter and more delicate We have at a Rhubar festival, Rhubub sausages, rehubub cheese ays about Rhubarb. I mean it is I love Rhubab and being the MP for Rhubab was a, you know, was a great honor For me also In the nineteenth century, my constituency, Normanton the largest stationed in Britain measured by the number of lunch covers they could do because the main landing line train from London to Edinburgh would pull off the main line, go into Normanton and they would do four hundred people for lunch every day. Queen Victoria President UdsC C Grant President of Brazil all came to my constituency in the nineteenth century for lunch because you know, there was no restaurant cars on the train, but you got off and had this really long station. And there is a part of Normonton, which has the Dom Pedro way Isnt that Don Pedrero Collery was? No, Don Pedro was He was so interested He was so interested in coal mining. He came off, visited the Normanton coal mines and then bought the technology to take back to Brazil. and the only reason he came was because he stopped for lunch So there we are, Normonton, Moran outward, Rubar train lunches have been, you know Bes pretty much anything other than Dream to down the mountain could the mountain hell. Yeah, you haven't really answered his this question, but anyway. He says An issue or causes that were distinctive to your own patch. The issue of rhubarb and the cause of trade L So it's a good question from Josh. Thank you very much for send anyone in I hope your anwer iss to be Iope is interesting.re good. Well, I think it's good I'll tell you two things. One is I was enormously influenced by the constituency I represented And I was Basically trying to get myself selected for safe conservative seats around the country And I just come number two in the You know, the local contest to become the Tory candidate on the Welsh border near Limpster in Herefordshire, very beautiful constituency with the Rriver Y running through it. And then I literally was like, okay, next one's in Taton up in Cheshire and it was the first time I'd ever been to Tatton. phhysically except maybe driving through on the M six and stopping at the Nutsford services So I didn't know the area at all. and I wasn't really thinking like Where do I want to represent? I was frankly looking at the majorities. That was how I approached getting the seat. But once I had the seat, it had an enormous influence on me because I'd grown up in Central London, I've gone to school in Central London My whole life have been around Central London You know Oxford was about as far as I've been And suddenly here I was in the north of England, okay, an affl part of the north, but nevertheless very much the north of England where people didn't really look to London And they looked to Manchester and they looked to liverable and And it did change quite a lot, my kind of perspective on the country and it did me a world of good. and it also led to very much my policy led to things like now being debated Manchisterism and engaging in the economic development of Manchester and the pression of the mayor and so on. So It had a big, big impact on me personally and it was definitely very good for It'd be much better for me, it was much better for me to be the MP for Taffon than say be the MP for Kensington or Westminster or Batteryal or somethingone like that and It is true, I mean Taten is a beautiful place and it's got some lovely countryside and so on There were times I thought It would be nice though to be the MP for some really wild and beautiful partart of the country. I was a little to Josh's question. sometimes I was a bit jealous of that And the way I kind of got round it was that when I had a constituency house I wasn't in the constituency. I was in the Pat district And I was up on these moors. It was the most beautiful location. Absolutely stunning Ms of the beat distr. And and it was only about fifteen, ten, fifteen minutes drive from the kind of border in my constituency And so I kind of had the best of both worlds. I had this interesting constituency crucially with a bigictian majority. then and then I had this home on the Moors, which were really beautiful. Anyway, if I took a stroll up one of these hills and I I twist my ankles Josh is going to turn up in them a helicopter to pick me up. orr maybe you can just drive up, is there road I'm not sure I mean, if you fall off a table, at' three in the morning, does thatact there was a different kind of an injury. Let let's take ad break.' got time for one more ridiculous question Shipping, billing, admin, payroll, marketing, you're managing all the things. So why waste time sending important documents the old fashioned way Mail and ship when you want, how you want with stamps dot comot Print postage on demand twenty four seven and schedule pickups from your office or home. Save up to ninety percent with automated rate shopping. That's why over one million small businesses trust stamps dot comot Go to stamps dot com and use code podcasts to try stamps dot com risk free for sixty days You want to get your backyard summer ready, but you don't want to break the bank? Wayfare gets it, planning on dining alfresco or relaxing poolside Wayfair has everything you need to prep your space. Shop now and save up to seventy percent off during Wayfair's Fourth of July clearance. sccore huge deals on outdoor furniture, area rugs, and more. We're talking thousands of products for every style and budget. Plus, sururprise Flash deals July sixth. Don't wait Shop Wayfare's Fourth of July clearance now through july sixth at wayfare dot com d Pay fair, every style, every home. So our final question relates to centrist Dad turning down the offer to play at a top university this summer. We discussed this on our podcast a few weeks ag And u P has now emailed in I'm not saying'm going to say challenging, just sort of, you know, quizzically pondering My exxplanation. Hi Ed. Hi, George. This is Paul Jones Love the podcast I'd like to thank Ed for clarifying that it was a simple lack of time that led to centrist Dad turning down the offer of playing Frinity College Oxford recently. This was due to the thoroughly plausible explanation of the band's packed schedule in the spring I think this wellon truly scotches any potential for rumours that it was actually the band's clear connections to Trinity rival and neeighbour Baial College that was actually behind the decision It'sreat to hear Ed getting ahead of this and nipping it in the bud before it became a bigger story My question Should we expect a rendition of Gordouli at the next centrist Dad gig Thanks And So I mean, the answer, Paul You were lying. It was No the answer Paul was that Diaries were diaries. That mean how you only do about two pigs a year He felt like a rolling stand. we couldn't fit in another. We couldn't we couldn't make things good for that particular Yeah The Darklness Park the stest to player It is true to say that one member of the band who shall remain nameless did when I kind of explain this invitation, yell out over my dead body, but they were immediately drowned out by the rest of us who said, No, no, that is ridiculous And u And it turns out that this person had gone to Bailely. this.