Connect with us

Published

on

Sir Keir Starmer has said the Labour conference this week was a turning point for the party and it now has a “credible programme” to win the next general election.

The Labour leader, speaking the morning after his 90-minute keynote speech, said if voters do not want to support the plans put forward at conference then he does not know what their problem is.

Sir Keir told Sky News’ Kay Burley: “It’s a broad church, there is something now to unite behind, which is the programme we’re setting out – a credible programme for government.

“We can unite around a programme that is credible and that will put us into a position to go into government.

“If you dissent, if you don’t like affordable housing which is was what we unveiled on Friday, if you don’t like employment rights, including statutory sick pay, which was so desperately needed during the pandemic, if you don’t like the idea that children should leave school ready for life, ready for work, then I don’t really know what you’re arguing against, because it seems to me working families up and down the country are desperate for these changes to be made.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Starmer deals with heckler

During the five-day Labour conference in Brighton, the first in-person since Sir Keir became leader in 2020, the party made several big policy announcements on the economy, housing, employment and education.

It promised to spend an extra £28bn a year on making the UK economy more “green”, phase out business rates and ensure tech giants pay more tax, increase council and affordable housing stocks, increase the minimum wage to at least £10 an hour and end charitable status for private schools.

More on Labour

And Sir Keir managed to get through a change in how Labour leaders are voted for, despite much talk against it before the vote over the weekend.

Sir Keir’s speech was derided as too long by some but he said it was meant to be an hour and the extra half-an-hour was due to “applause and giving me standing ovations”.

“That is a good thing, and some heckling, yes – but if the only criticism of the speech is it was too long then I’ll take that and trim it for next time,” he said.

The Labour leader has struggled with accusations of being uncharismatic and lacking emotion but his speech on Wednesday was deeply personal as he drew on his experiences of being brought up by his toolmaker father and NHS nurse mother.

He said he did not agree that you needed to be a showman to win a general election and used the example of Labour Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, saying he is “not a showman” but has a “very reassuring, honest, open, transparent style”.

And he dismissed Boris Johnson’s style of leadership, pointing to the current fuel and energy crises and saying: “We are lurching from crisis to crisis to crisis.

“Yes, you can campaign on slogans but you absolutely can’t govern in slogans.”

Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria walk along the promenade in Brighton, East Sussex, ahead of delivering his keynote speech at the Labour Party conference. Picture date: Wednesday September 29, 2021.
Image:
Sir Keir and his wife Victoria walked along the promenade in Brighton ahead of his speech on Wednesday

Sir Keir added that he is continually compared with other leaders but he is his own man and is confident he can win the next election.

He said: “Ever since I became Labour leader people have been wanting to tattoo somebody else’s name on my head, are you this previous leader, that previous leader – all leaders are different.

“My job is not to hug a leader from the past but to do the job that leader of the Labour needs to do now, which is to get our party ready to go into the next general election and be in a position to win it – and win it.

“We are absolutely going for that next general election, I’m fed up with people saying you can’t do it.”

Continue Reading

Politics

Ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana at centre of new party row over £800k in donations

Published

on

By

Ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana at centre of new party row over £800k in donations

Donations being held by Zarah Sultana will be transferred over to Your Party in tranches from this week, Sky News has been told, but the party stand-off remains.

Ms Sultana has sole control of over £800,000 of Your Party donations following an internal fallout.

Her spokesperson told Sky News £600k would be transferred over in three tranches starting with £200k from Wednesday, and the rest “once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full”.

But a Your Party source told Sky News she should transfer the full £800k worth of donations now.

Politics Live: Another migrant deported to France returns to UK on small boat

It follows a major row over finances behind the scenes of the new left-wing party, which Ms Sultana co-launched with Jeremy Corbyn in July.

At the time, a company called MOU Operations was used to collect donations, with the idea this would be transferred over to Your Party once it was formally registered with the Electoral Commission.

More from Politics

The registration happened on 30 September, but no transfer of funds has been made – despite Ms Sultana stepping in to take ownership of MOU last month after its previous three directors quit.

MOU is holding around £800k of donations in total, as well as around £500k in fees collected as part of Ms Sultana’s unauthorised membership launch, Sky News understands.

Ms Sultana’s spokesperson said £600k would be transferred over in three tranches, and the rest “once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full”.

The Your Party source told Sky News that Ms Sultana has been told Your Party can’t accept the money related to her membership launch due to legal risks and accused her of trying to “offload” it.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Can Your Party get it together?

Ms Sultana agreed to take over MOU to break a standoff between Your Party and the company’s previous three directors – former Labour MP Beth Winter, former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll and former South African politician Andrew Feinstein.

The trio set up MOU in April to assist with a new left-wing party centred around Mr Corbyn but resigned on 29 October, claiming the role of holding donations had been “thrust upon” them and raising concerns about a “lack of appropriate governance” within Your Party.

The statement said they hadn’t transferred over the funds because they were worried about legal liabilities and wanted Your Party to take over the company instead – but five of the six founding MPs refused.

Ms Sultana said her stepping in would “bring the chapter to a close” and “these resources will now be used for Your Party, as was always intended”.

However that angered some within Your Party who say this is a mess of her own making because of the membership fiasco, which is still being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

‘Low trust environment’

While Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana have since patched things up, one Your Party source described operating in a “low trust environment”.

Senior Your Party figures have accused Ms Sultana of deliberately withholding MOU’s funds for political leverage despite privately and publicly committing to the transfer. Organisers expressed frustration at operating on a “shoestring” ahead of the founding conference at the end of this month.

However, allies close to the Coventry South MP have dismissed the “hostile briefings” and insist she has been conducting “due diligence” before sending the money over.

Sky News understands Ms Sultana has been seeking Your Party’s constitution and financial scheme as registered with the Electoral Commission, to help her understand the party’s governing structures.

A source close to her claims there has been an unwillingness to share the documents from within Your Party, so she has requested them from the elections watchdog directly.

It is not clear who wrote the documents and who is controlling access to them – or why one of the party’s founders should not be able to see them.

A spokesperson for Ms Sultana said: “Zarah did not choose to become the sole director of MOU Operations Limited, but was prepared to take on this responsibility to ensure funds are transferred as quickly as possible and preparations for the founding conference can progress.

“As sole director, she is legally responsible for ensuring the company’s costs, liabilities and expenses are settled, and this process may take some time. To ensure funds are available for the founding conference, she will transfer £600k in tranches over the next couple of weeks. The first £200k is scheduled to be sent 12 November.

“All remaining funds will be transferred once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full.”

A Your Party spokesperson said: “We are completely focused on putting together a successful founding conference for our members, so they can democratically decide Your Party’s structures and programme, and Britain can get the socialist alternative it so badly needs. Hundreds of volunteers are working tirelessly on a shoestring budget to make this a reality, a testament to the grassroots power of our mass movement.”

Continue Reading

Politics

XRP rallies on US shutdown nearing end, ETF tickers landing on DTCC

Published

on

By

XRP rallies on US shutdown nearing end, ETF tickers landing on DTCC

Excitement in the crypto community is growing over the potential launch of XRP funds, as the US Senate advances a deal aimed at ending the longest-ever government shutdown.

The Senate reportedly reached a deal on a budget bill to end the government shutdown on Sunday, sending a bullish signal to numerous markets, including crypto.

The XRP (XRP) community is anticipating multiple XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to launch shortly, with several already appearing on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) website ahead of a possible launch this month.

The price of XRP has rallied more than 12% on the bullish news over the past 24 hours, with the token trading at $2.56 at the time of publication, according to CoinGecko.

11 XRP products listed on DTCC

As of Monday, the DTCC website featured 11 XRP ETF products on its “active and pre-launch” listing, including those by 21Shares, ProShares, Bitwise, Canary Capital, Volatility Shares, REX-Osprey, CoinShares, Amplify and Franklin Templeton.

Although a DTCC listing does not equal actual launch and does not guarantee regulatory approval, it signals that the ETF infrastructure is ready to be traded on US markets.

The list of XRP products listed on the DTCC as of Monday. Source: DTCC

It’s worth noting that Grayscale’s XRP Trust (GXRP) has not yet appeared on the DTCC website, and the list also does not currently include an XRP fund from WisdomTree.

“Government shutdown ending = spot crypto ETF floodgates opening,” ETF expert Nate Geraci wrote in an X post on Sunday, adding: “In the meantime, could see first ‘33 Act spot xrp ETF launch this week.”

Related: End to US gov’t shutdown sparks institutional buying, ETF ‘floodgate’ hopes

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas also posted on X on Sunday, noting that the “shutdown is over” and highlighting a subsequent uptick in US equity futures.

“The SEC had open litigation against Ripple for the past five years, up until three months ago. IMO, the launch of spot XRP ETFs represents the final nail in the coffin for the previous wave of anti-crypto regulators,” he wrote in an X post on Nov. 2.

Ripple, SEC, XRP, ETF, Policy
Source: Nate Geraci

He also highlighted a post from Canary Capital, which claimed last Friday that its XRP ETF is “coming soon,” speculating that the product could go live by the end of this week.