Episodes
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Ian Ward, the Labour leader of Birmingham City Council.
Having entered local government in the mid-1990s, Ward has led Birmingham City Council since 2017. Keen to promote Birmingham’s both nationally and overseas, he spearheaded the successful 2022 Commonwealth Games bid, having already helped bring a number of high-profile international sporting events to Birmingham.
In this interview, conducted in Birmingham Council Headquarters, Ward discusses the importance of “levelling up” the UK economy, particularly the Midlands – and argues that the government’s recent Budget measures will do little to bring about a more regionally-balanced economy.
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode Liam speaks to Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands since 2017, representing the Conservatives.
Raised in Birmingham, Street started his career as a John Lewis trainee in 1985, rising through the ranks to become Managing Director in 2007.
Under his leadership, the iconic chain saw a 50 per cent increase in sales, a doubling in the number of stores and the growth of the company's online sales department.
In this interview, Street defends the government’s “levelling-up” policies, highlighting the importance of the enterprise zones outlined in Jeremy Hunt’s March 2023 budget.
But Street also urges Hunt to “think again” about the removal of assistance for businesses with “sky-high energy bills”. He says some manufacturers and hospitality companies have been “locked-in to contracts with artificially high prices” – and calls on the government to “force” energy providers to renegotiate such agreements in light of recent falls in wholesale energy prices.
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Missing episodes?
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
Braverman was born and raised in London. Her parents emigrated to the UK from Kenya and Mauritius respectively. After studying law at Cambridge, Braverman was a barrister before entering Parliament as MP for the Conservative stronghold of Fareham, Hampshire in 2015.
Braverman moved swiftly through the ministerial ranks, becoming Brexit Minister in 2018 then Attorney General in 2020. And now, as Home Secretary, she holds one of the four Great Offices of State.
In this detailed interview, recorded in the Home Office in late February 2023, Braverman outlines why her childhood made her a Conservative, defends the government’s “small boats” policy and explains why the UK may eventually need to leave the European Convention on Human Rights – while reflecting on why she attracts so many negative headlines.
“I see my job as telling the truth and fixing problems,” she says. “And sometimes, when the truth is uncomfortable, people get upset”.
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Lorraine Bliss, who runs St Edmunds, in Norwich.
An award-winning charity, St Eds – as it’s known – provides vocational training to some 250 teenagers from across East Anglia – some of regular school age, others who are 16-plus.
There are over a million young people in the UK not in education, employment or training for work - so-called NEETS. Their numbers have soared since Covid lockdown.
Students at St Ed’s have often been excluded from school, leaving with no qualifications.
But despite receiving no direct government funding, and relying heavily on contributions from local business, Lorraine and her staff teach teenagers hands-on skills – from bricklaying to hair and beauty, from motor-mechanics to carpentry – that can help them earn a decent living.
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Asher Bennett, Founder and CEO of Tevva – a company based in Tilbury, Essex, that makes dual-fuel hydrogen/battery trucks.
Tevva opened its Tilbury factory in January 2022, and already employs 300 workers. Its dual-fuel trucks, which combine both a lithium-ion battery and a hydrogen fuel cell, have a range of hundreds of miles and can be refuelled with hydrogen in just 10 minutes, making carbon-free truck fleets commercially viable.
With around a fifth of all carbon-emissions worldwide caused by the road haulage industry, Bennett says that the use of dual-fuel hydrogen/battery eco-trucks could make a major contribution to meeting “net zero” targets.
He also explains why, in his view, “the UK is an amazing place to do business”.
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In this episode, Liam talks to John Penrose, the government’s competition Tsar.
Penrose has been the Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare since 2005, having previously worked for JP Morgan and McKinsey. He has also served as a minister in several government departments, including the Northern Ireland Office.
In 2021, John wrote the “Power to the People”, a government-commissioned independent report on competition policy, designed to shape new laws to “make capitalism work for all” as the British economy develops outside the European Union.
In this detailed interview, and ahead of the publication of an updated Penrose report later this year, John discusses his views on the Autumn statement, ways to improve consumer protection and the need to “reclaim supply-side economics”.
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Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, recorded during the COP-27 summit, Liam talks to Former Brexit Secretary Lord David Frost.
Until early 2020, Frost was known only to Whitehall and Westminster insiders. But after then Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed him as the UK’s Chief Brexit negotiator, he became a household name.
In December 2021, Frost resigned from government. He admired Johnson but said he couldn’t support what was then called “Plan B” - the tightening of anti-Covid restrictions.
Since then, Frost has written a weekly Daily Telegraph column and plied his trade in the Upper House, remaining a man of considerable political influence.
In this interview, Frost casts doubt on the government’s Net Zero 2050 target, while accuses Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of “hypocrisy” for cutting a deal to import huge amounts of fracked gas from the US, while not allowing UK fracking. He also warns against raising taxes into the teeth of recession and tighter monetary policy, which he says risks throwing the UK economy into a “vicious spiral”.
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News. In this episode, ahead of the COP-27 summit in Egypt, Liam talks to Steve Scrimshaw, Vice-President of Siemens UK.
Companies like Siemens UK have been at the heart of efforts to develop renewable power sources like wind and solar, helping to reduce carbon emissions, with renewables now helping to generate up to 40pc of the UK’s electricity – themes developed during this interview.
A member of the Hydrogen Advisory Council, Scrimshaw also explains why hydrogen is such an important future fuel source, while calling for “a national endeavour” to deliver UK energy security and a net zero electricity system.
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Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Stephen Morley, President of Confederation of British Metalforming, a trade body comprising hundreds of companies, employing tens of thousands of workers.
These are firms at the heart of the UK’s manufacturing sector – and they use a lot of energy.
Returning to Money Talks, Stephen responds to the government's new energy support package for business, praising ministers for providing assistance to firms trying to cope with spiraling bills. But he suggests the help needs to last for longer than six months - while pointing out that headlines suggesting commercial energy bills are being "cut by half" overstate reality.
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Patrick Minford, Professor of Economics at Cardiff University. During the Conservative leadership contest, when Liz Truss was asked to name any economists who backed her plans, she replied “Patrick Minford.”
Previously based at Liverpool University, Minford made his name as one of the “monetarists” who revolutionised economic thinking in the late 1970s and early 80s. His “Liverpool model” of the economy was based on rational expectations – the idea people make decisions on available information and learn from past experience – which became a popular explanation of why high inflation is hard to shift.
Back then, after 364 economists wrote to the Times attacking the 1981 budget as deflationary, Minford wrote a letter contradicting them, and later became an advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Now 79, Minford agrees with Truss that tax cuts are needed to prevent the economy sliding into recession. He has encouraged the incoming Prime Minister to face down the Treasury - and give stronger economic growth a higher priority than immediately reducing the national debt.
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Andy Scanlon, the UK franchisee of Sandbox VR, one of the world’s leading location-based virtual reality companies.
Sandbox VR provides fully immersive gaming experiences, in physical city-centre locations, involving teams of players. It has its own unique titles such as Amber Sky 2088 and Deadwood Mansion, which are all designed in-house.
While working as an investment analyst in Singapore, Andy Scanlon visited a Sandbox VR venue. He was so impressed he contacted the Hong-Kong based owner – and was granted distribution rights across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Having launched the first Sandbox VR venue in London in July 2022, Scanlon is planning further locations in Manchester, Birmingham and Dublin over the coming months.
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Gordon Kerr, a finance and debt markets specialist who has advised several European governments on the future of the eurozone.
With the European Central Bank now raising interest rates for the first time in over a decade, there are fears higher borrowing costs could tip the eurozone into recession – a region which remains of huge importance to UK trade.
Russian threats to cut off gas to Germany, and political crisis in Italy has in fact raised concerns the eurozone could once again experience the kind of turbulence when Greece was almost forced out back in 2011/12.
In this wide-ranging interview, seasoned financial markets practitioner and leading authority on the structure of the single currency, Gordon Kerr explains the tensions at the heart of monetary union and discusses future scenarios.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Welcome to Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Michael Stewart, founder of a new British social media platform called Uzube. Aimed at generation Z, those born from the early 1990s onwards, Uzube is designed to allow millions of creative people to showcase their work – be it music, photography or other art forms - meet like-minded people and raise donations to support their work.
An accomplished actor and singer, Stewart has built a platform which distinguishes between adults, teens and kids, allowing users to focus on their age-related content and with parental control to protect children entering the world of social media. Michael Stewart believes that for too long, UK and European tech entrepreneurs have lagged behind US tech giants – which he believes should and will ultimately be subjected to wide-ranging anti-trust legislation.
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In this interview, Liam talks to Edward Chancellor – the well-known financial historian, author, journalist and investment strategist.
Edward’s new book – The Price of Time: the real story of interest’ – is an account of the impact of central banks’ policy of ultra-low interest rates and quantitative easing since the 2008 global financial crisis. His previous books include Devil take the hindmost: A history of financial speculation – which has been translated into many languages and was a New York Times book of the year.
After reading history and both Cambridge and Oxford, Chancellor worked for Lazard Brothers and has since contributed to numerous publications, including The Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Money Week.
The Price of Time is highly critical of global central banks – whose policies, Edward Chancellor argues, have unleashed inflation and brought the world to the brink of another financial crisis.
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In this interview, Liam talks to Alan Miller – a well-known hospitality entrepreneur, who set up the Night Time Industries Association in 2015, serving as its first Chairman.
A proud Londoner, Alan has a long track-record in business, having founded the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, in the heart of the capital’s East End, in the early 1990s. His drive and creativity helped to attract a range of tenants to the 10-acre site, transform the locality. Prior to that, Alan ran a promotions company in Soho’s Denmark Street and Club events across the UK, which also branched into live music and fashion.
Highly respected for his night-time industries expertise, Alan has worked with local councils and advised mayors in various cities in the UK and abroad.
Alan is now working full time with the Together Association, which he cofounded in response to what he has described as the government’s draconian lockdown policies.
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In this episode, Liam talks to Linas Pozerskis - Co-founder and CEO of WAU - a company selling long range electric bikes. Headquartered in Birmingham, WAU was set up in 2018 after Linas and his team conducted extensive market research amongst avid cyclists - to find out what makes the perfect electric bike.
Today’s WAU bikes, the company says, combine effortless repair with a 100-mile range between charges. WAU keeps prices down by avoiding high street mark-up, going direct to consumers.
Starting from a garage in Nottingham, Linas now runs from a sizeable manufacturing plant, but the journey has been challenging. To get the business up and running, he and other founders invested their savings, worked 100-hour weeks and slept on the factory floor.
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In this episode, Liam talks to the Secretary of State for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove. Having entered the House of Commons in 2005, the MP for Surrey Heath has emerged as one of the UK’s most influential politicians. Having previously run the Departments for Education, Justice and Food and Agriculture, Gove has developed a reputation as a courageous reformer, who gets things done.
After taking a prominent pro-Brexit role in the 2016 EU referendum, he then led Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign, before changing this mind, allowing Theresa May to become Prime Minister.
Now a Johnson loyalist, Gove says he is determined to see more homes built in the UK, not least social housing for low income and otherwise vulnerable families.
In this wide-ranging, exclusive interview, Michael Gove criticises over-dominant large house builders and discusses the need for greater UK energy security.
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In this episode, Liam talks to serial entrepreneur and thought-leader Piers Linney.
Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Piers grew up in Lancashire – the son of a mother from Barbados and a father from Manchester. With a professional background in law and banking, Piers has appeared as an investor on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den and the Channel 4 series “Secret Millionaire”.
He is also a non-Executive Director of the British Business Bank and a trustee of the innovation foundation Nesta.
In 2021, Piers founded Moblok – a tech platform and consultancy service for small businesses, with a mission “to support small business owners to make better informed technology purchasing decisions”.
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In this episode, Liam talks to Steve Freer and Val Wawrosz, the two founders of Tempus Novo. With almost 60 years of combined experience working with offenders in prisons throughout the country, Steve and Val set up Tempus Novo in 2014, to identify and place ex-offenders with leading employers, giving former convicts a chance to rebuild their lives.
Determined to improve rehabilitation within the UK criminal justice system, Steve and Val have built strong relationship with both ministers and officials at the Ministry of Justice and elsewhere inside government. Having developed a comprehensive understanding of ex-offender management and resettlement, Tempus Novo has successfully placed hundreds of former criminals in long-term civilian work.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Money Talks – a series of interviews with Liam Halligan, Economics and Business Editor of GB News.
In this episode, Liam talks to Siobhan Miles-Moore - artist and co-founder of Miles Moore Ceramics. Despite having a passion for ceramics from an early age, Siobhan initially pursued a conventional career in higher education and later worked as a firefighter. Siobhan then returned to her creative roots, and now makes award-winning ceramics - working from her Lake District home with her partner in life and business, Martin Miles Moore.
Miles Moore Ceramics produces tableware for domestic households and high-profile restaurants - with their products used by Michelin starred chefs and two Masterchef finalists. In this extended interview, Siobhan talks about building a brand, combining business with artistry and the relationship between creativity and physical environment.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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