Lib Dems demand recall of parliament for vote on ‘deceitful’ and ‘botched’ vaccine passports plan
The Liberal Democrats are campaigning for parliament to be recalled from summer recess to debate proposals to introduce the use of vaccine passports.
The party’s leader Sir Ed Davey has written a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson accusing his government of “committing to vaccine passports by stealth” which he warned was “a recipe for chaos and dissent”.
Sir Ed added that the use of such a scheme would be “a grotesque misuse of government diktat” and said MPs must be brought back from their summer holidays immediately to vote on the matter.
Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said MPs should be recalled from their summer holidays to discuss and vote on the issue
The PM has said individuals will need to be fully vaccinated to go to nightclubs from the end of September and that proof of a negative COVID test will no longer be sufficient.
And the prospect of people having to prove their COVID-19 status to access a range of other venues has been raised in recent weeks with universities, music events and sporting fixtures all having been mentioned as possible other settings for certification.
Sir Ed said businesses will suffer greatly under the proposals.
“It is deeply unsettling to see you and your government committing to vaccine passports by stealth. This goes against all our country’s traditions and is utterly deceitful,” his letter published on Friday states.
“Parliament must be recalled immediately.
“How businesses or indeed even churches will be expected to decide who can or cannot pass through their doors has not been made clear.
“This is a recipe for chaos and dissent on many doorsteps throughout England.
Sporting events have been mentioned as other areas where vaccine passports may be required
“It would be a grotesque misuse of government diktat to introduce ID cards without any scrutiny, let alone a vote of MPs.
“The government owes this to all those individuals and businesses who will suffer as a result of your rushed and botched scheme.
“The nation is calling out for leadership, not deception. It is time to step up, to own your decision on COVID ID cards and put it to a vote to parliament. You must recall parliament now.”
A number of Conservative MPs have told Sky News they do not think the government will follow through and actually introduce domestic vaccine passports.
More than 40 Conservatives recently signed a declaration from the campaign group Big Brother Watch expressing opposition to the idea.
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, told Sky News that vaccine passports for domestic use would be a “massive step and a misguided one”.
Some Tory MPs contacted by Sky News say they think the prime minister is bluffing in a bid to increase vaccine uptake, while others expressed their belief that the government would pull any vote on the matter if there is a realistic prospect of them losing.
Boris Johnson is facing a backlash from some of his own MPs over the issue
“I don’t think they will,” Wellingborough MP Peter Bone said when asked if he thinks the government will follow through and introduce vaccine passports.
He added that he was against vaccine passports because they are “identity papers by the back door” and risked creating a “two class society”.
Fellow Conservative Craig Mackinlay, meanwhile, said he thinks the government is adopting a “carrot and stick approach” to increase vaccine take-up.
“I hope that is as far as these plans go,” the MP for South Thanet said.
And Andrew Bridgen described vaccine passports as “completely unnecessary, bureaucratic and unworkable”, adding that they would “create a divided society”.
The Conservative MP for North West Leicestershire accused the government of engaging in “sabre-rattling” as part of a “crude attempt to coerce young people to take the vaccine”.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he ‘can see a case for vaccine passports’ for mass events
Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he “can see a case for vaccine passports” for mass events, but not for “day-to-day routine”.
Asked whether people should have to prove they have had two vaccine doses before returning to the office, Sir Keir told reporters: “I don’t agree with that.
“I can see a case for vaccine passports, alongside testing, when it comes to big sporting events or mass events, certainly for international travel.
“But for day-to-day routine – access to the office, access to health services or dentistry or even food – I don’t agree with vaccine passports for day-to-day access.”
Subscribe to the All Out Politics podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
He added: “We can’t have a situation where someone can’t have access to a health service or dentistry or supermarkets – that is something I don’t think anybody could seriously countenance, so we have to make this distinction.
“But we need to be pragmatic, we need to look at whatever the government puts on the table when it comes to longer term events, mass events etcetera.”
A government spokesperson told Sky News on Thursday: “There has been no change to our plans to introduce vaccine certification in September.
“The government is focussed on protecting the public and reducing the impact of the virus, including mandating COVID certification in certain settings.
“Vaccines are the best possible way to protect you and your family against the virus and we strongly encourage people to come forward.”
Bitcoin’s latest pullback may already be bottoming out, with asset manager Grayscale arguing that the market is on track to break the traditional four-year halving cycle and potentially set new all-time highs in 2026.
Some indicators are already pointing to a local bottom, not a prolonged drawdown, including Bitcoin’s (BTC) elevated option skew rising above 4, which signals that investors have already hedged “extensively” for downside exposure.
Despite a 32% decline, Bitcoin is on track to disrupt the traditional four-year halving cycle, wrote Grayscale in a Monday research report. “Although the outlook is uncertain, we believe the four-year cycle thesis will prove to be incorrect, and that Bitcoin’s price will potentially make new highs next year,” the report said.
Related: Cathie Wood still bullish on $1.5M Bitcoin price target: Finance Redefined
Still, Bitcoin’s short-term recovery remains limited until some of the main flow indicators stage a reversal, including futures open interest, exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows and selling from long-term Bitcoin holders.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs, one of the main drivers of Bitcoin’s momentum in 2025, added significant downside pressure in November, racking up $3.48 billion in net negative outflows in their second-worst month on record, according to Farside Investors.
More recently, though, the tide has started to turn. The funds have now logged four consecutive days of inflows, including a modest $8.5 million on Monday, suggesting ETF buyer appetite is slowly returning after the sell-off.
While market positioning suggests a “leverage reset rather than a sentiment break,” the key question is whether Bitcoin can “reclaim the low-$90,000s to avoid sliding toward mid-to-low-$80,000 support,” Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at digital asset platform Nexo, told Cointelegraph.
Related: Strategy unveils new credit gauge to calm debt fears after Bitcoin crash
Fed policy and US crypto bill loom as 2026 catalysts
Crypto market watchers now await the largest “swing factor,” the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Dec. 10. The Fed’s decision and monetary policy guidance will serve as a significant catalyst for 2026, according to Grayscale.
Markets are pricing in an 87% chance of a 25 basis point interest rate cut, up from 63% a month ago, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Later in 2026, Grayscale said continued progress toward the Digital Asset Market Structure bill may act as another catalyst for driving “institutional investment in the industry.” However, for more progress to be made, crypto needs to remain a “bipartisan issue,” and not turn into a partisan topic for the midterm US elections.
That effort effectively began with the passage of the CLARITY Act in the House of Representatives, which moved forward in July as part of the Republicans’ “crypto week” agenda. Senate leaders have said they plan to “build on” the House bill under the banner of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, aiming to set a broader framework for digital asset markets.
The bill is currently under consideration in the Republican-led Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott said in November that the committee planned to have the bill ready for signing into law by early 2026.
Magazine: Bitcoin to see ‘one more big thrust’ to $150K, ETH pressure builds
Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki declined to sign a bill imposing strict regulations on the crypto asset market, drawing praise from the crypto community and sharp criticism from others in the government.
Nawrocki vetoed Poland’s Crypto-Asset Market Act, saying its provisions “genuinely threaten the freedoms of Poles, their property, and the stability of the state,” according to a statement by the president’s press office on Monday.
Introduced in June, the bill has drawn criticism from industry advocates such as Polish politician Tomasz Mentzen, who had anticipated the president’s refusal to sign it as it cleared parliamentary approval.
Although crypto advocates welcomed the veto as a win for the market, several government officials condemned the move, claiming the president had “chosen chaos” and must bear full responsibility for the outcome.
Why the president vetoed the bill
One of the main reasons cited for the veto was a provision allowing authorities to easily block websites operating in the crypto market.
“Domain blocking laws are opaque and can lead to abuse,” the president’s office said in an official news release.
The president’s office also cited the bill’s widely criticized length, saying its complexity reduces transparency and would lead to “overregulation,” especially when compared with simpler frameworks in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
“Overregulation is an easy way to drive companies to the Czech Republic, Lithuania or Malta, rather than create conditions for them to operate and pay taxes in Poland,” the president said.
Nawrocki also highlighted the excessive amount of supervisory fees, which may prevent startup activity and favor foreign corporations and banks.
“This is a reversal of logic, killing off a competitive market and a serious threat to innovation,” he said.
Critics jump in: “The president chose chaos”
Nawrocki’s veto has triggered a strong backlash from top Polish officials, including Finance Minister Andrzej Domański and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski.
Domański warned on X that “already now 20% of clients are losing their money as a result of abuses in this market,” accusing the president of having “chosen chaos” and saying he bears full responsibility for the fallout.
Related: Spain’s junior ruling party proposes 47% crypto tax in ‘attack against Bitcoin’
Sikorski echoed the concern, saying that the bill was supposed to regulate the crypto market. “When the bubble bursts and thousands of Poles lose their savings, at least they will know who to thank,” Sikorski argued on X.
Crypto advocates, including Polish economist Krzysztof Piech, quickly pushed back, arguing that the president cannot be held responsible for authorities failing to pursue scammers.
He also noted that the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) is set to provide investor protections across all EU member states starting July 1, 2026.
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice
The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will propose a framework for implementing US stablecoin laws later this month, according to its acting chair, Travis Hill.
“The FDIC has begun work to promulgate rules to implement the GENIUS Act; we expect to issue a proposed rule to establish our application framework later this month,” Hill said in prepared testimony to be delivered on Tuesday to the House Financial Services Committee.
He added the agency will also have a “proposed rule to implement the GENIUS Act’s prudential requirements for FDIC-supervised payment stablecoin issuers early next year.”
President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act in July, which created oversight and licensing regimes for multiple regulators, with the FDIC to police the stablecoin-issuing subsidiaries of the institutions it oversees.
The FDIC insures deposits in thousands of banks in the event that they fail, and under the GENIUS Act, it will also be tasked with making “capital requirements, liquidity standards, and reserve asset diversification standards” for stablecoin issuers, said Hill.
Federal agencies, such as the FDIC, publish their proposed rules for public feedback, and they then review and respond to the input, if necessary, before publishing a final version of the rules, a process that can take several months.
Related: Republicans urge action on market structure bill over debanking claims
The Treasury, which will also regulate some stablecoin issuers, including non-banks, began its implementation of the GENIUS Act in August and finished a second period of public comment on its implementation proposal last month.
FDIC is working on tokenized deposit guidelines
Hill said in his remarks that the FDIC has also considered recommendations published in July by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.
“The report recommends clarifying or expanding permissible activities in which banks may engage, including the tokenization of assets and liabilities,” Hill said.
“We are also currently developing guidance to provide additional clarity with respect to the regulatory status of tokenized deposits,” he added.
Fed helping regulators with stablecoin rules
The Federal Reserve’s vice supervision chair, Michelle Bowman, will also testify on Tuesday that the central bank is “currently working with the other banking regulators to develop capital, liquidity, and diversification regulations for stablecoin issuers as required by the GENIUS Act.”
Bowman added, according to her prepared remarks, that “we also need to provide clarity in treatment on digital assets to ensure that the banking system is well placed to support digital asset activities.”
“This includes clarity on the permissibility of activities, but also a willingness to provide regulatory feedback on proposed new use cases,” she said.
The House Finance Committee’s hearing on Tuesday will also see remarks from the heads of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the National Credit Union Administration, which will both have a role in implementing stablecoin rules.
Magazine: Bitcoin vs stablecoins showdown looms as GENIUS Act nears
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024