Sunak’s Downing Street ‘committed’ to state pension triple lock despite cost concerns

Published

2 years ago

September 12, 2023

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Downing Street has said it remains “committed” to the pensions triple lock amid a debate about its cost to the public purse.

The triple lock is a government promise to raise publicly funded pensions by the level of average earnings, inflation or 2.5% – whichever is the highest.

It means the state pension could rise by 8.5% next year after new data showed that average weekly earnings growth in the three months to July rose by that amount in annual terms.

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The triple lock was designed to ensure people’s pensions were not affected by gradual rises in the cost of living over time.

But there have been questions as to whether the government would stick to the manifesto promise given that pay and inflation are running at higher levels than usual.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said in a recent report that the lock’s annual cost for the Treasury could reach anywhere between an additional £5bn and £45bn a year by 2050 due to the uncertainty created by the terms of the policy.

Critics also point to the impact the current cost of living crisis is having on working-age people who are having to contend with rent hikes and rising mortgage rates.

Labour has also refused to give a guarantee that it will be able to stick with the policy if it wins the next election.

Speaking to Sky News’ Politics Hub programme, shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire said she wished she could give a “definitive answer” when pressed on the issue by Sophy Ridge.

But she said it would be “irresponsible” to make such a promise when there could be another year of Conservative economic policies.

“The fundamental principle that we are on the side of pensioners remains,” she added. “But we have got to try and find a way of balancing the economy for everyone.”

Former Conservative chancellor, Lord Clarke, told Sky’s Sophy Ridge last week the government should ditch the lock.

Sunak’s Number 10 committed to policy

Number 10 today said it was sticking with the policy – although it refused to indicate how much the state pension will rise ahead of the “formal process” for uprating.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “You know there’s a formal process for this when it comes to uprating but we remain committed to the triple lock which has seen 200,000 pensioners lifted out of absolute poverty after housing costs are taken into account.”

Asked whether the average earnings figure of 8.5%, which includes bonuses, would be applied rather than a figure excluding bonuses, the official replied: “All those decisions on uprating are taken on a later date, later this year. I can’t pre-empt that work.”

The spokesperson also said the government would ensure the state pension “remains sustainable and fair across generations”.

Pensions secretary suggests figures not settled

Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, suggested pensioners may not get the 8.5% increase in the state pension that earnings figures suggest.

He told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “There clearly is a difference if you take into account the non-consolidated elements of pay in recent times, but these are all decisions that I have to take with the chancellor as part of a very clear process, a statutory process actually, that I go through in the autumn.

“So I didn’t want to get into the weeds of exactly how I’m going to go about that.

“But the overarching point about the triple lock is that we remain committed to it.”

Asked whether he was not ruling out using a lower figure based on earnings without bonuses – at 7.8% – he said: “I’m not going to get drawn into those kinds of questions.”

Triple lock could be Labour-Tory dividing line

The Tories have said they are committed to keeping the pledge after the next general election but Labour has so far refused to offer the same guarantee.

Shadow environment secretary Steve Reed said it was “very important that older people are able to live with decency and respect under all circumstances”.

But he added: “We need to see where we are by the time of the next election.”

“It was pretty much a year ago to the month when the Conservative government launched that disastrous mini-budget that crashed the economy and caused prices in the shops to rocket and interest rates to escalate beyond levels that people have seen for a decade,” he said.

“I can’t stand here and tell you what the Tories are going to do over the next year.

“So, we will need to look at where we are come the election. But, it will be in our next manifesto.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the latest earnings figures were “heartening” and that the number of employees on payroll was “close to record highs”.

“Wage growth remains high, partly reflecting one-off payments to public sector workers, but for real wages to grow sustainably we must stick to our plan to halve inflation,” he said.

But Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the UK had experienced “13 years of economic failure by the Conservatives, and people can see that their cost of living has increased”.

She said wage rises have not risen across the board while bills continue to rise, so “most people are still finding it incredibly difficult”.

Politics

Trump to host memecoin gala dinner amid backlash, impeachment calls

Published

4 hours ago

May 5, 2025

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Trump to host memecoin gala dinner amid backlash, impeachment calls

US President Donald Trump will host a gala dinner for top holders of his Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin despite bipartisan criticism and renewed calls for impeachment.

In a May 5 Truth Social post, Trump announced that he will hold a gala dinner with major TRUMP holders on May 22. The announcement follows multiple US lawmakers expressing concern over the initiative.

In late April, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren called on government officials to address questions related to Trump’s memecoin and his media company. Controversies grew after Trump announced a dinner and White House tour for some holders of his TRUMP memecoin.

“President Trump’s announcement promises exclusive access to the presidency in exchange for significant investment in one of the President’s business ventures,” a letter co-signed by California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff read.

A call for impeachment over a memecoin

Also in late April, Senator Jon Ossoff expressed support for impeaching Trump during an April 25 town hall, citing the president’s plan to host the dinner for top TRUMP memecoin holders. He said:

“When the sitting president of the United States is selling access for what are effectively payments directly to him. There is no question that that rises to the level of an impeachable offense.”

Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis and at least one other Republican in Congress were reportedly also critical of Trump for offering the top holders of his memecoin a dinner and White House tour. Lummis, of Wyoming, reportedly said that the US president offering exclusive access to himself and the White House for people willing to pay for it “gives [her] pause.”

In a May 4 post on X, Warren claimed the Trump family’s stablecoin surged in market value due to a “shady crypto deal with the United Arab Emirates,” which involved settling the investment using USD1. She argued this raised serious national security concerns and warned against the Senate passing crypto-friendly legislation.

Warren expressed concerns around foreign involvement in the US president’s finances. She also suggested that the Senate should refrain from approving pro-crypto bills:

“The Senate shouldn’t pass a crypto bill this week to facilitate this kind of corruption.“

Niko Demchuk, head of legal at crypto compliance firm AMLBot, told Cointelegraph that “Senator Warren’s concerns about ‘pro-crypto’ bills highlight tensions between fostering stablecoin innovation and mitigating risks like foreign influence or self-dealing by public officials.” He said that lawmakers can build safeguards such as disclosure requirements, anti-conflict of interest provisions and independent audits. He added:

“These safeguards address Warren’s concerns by prioritizing transparency and accountability without stifling legitimate stablecoin development. They might ensure the U.S. remains a hub for responsible innovation while protecting against misuse by public officials or foreign actors.“

Warren’s post included a clip from a recent interview during which Trump gave conflicting answers to whether he has profited from the crypto memecoin he launched in January, just days before he reentered the White House. During the clip, the president claims not to have “even looked” to check whether he profited off his endeavours.

The United Arab Emirates deal

Warren was likely referring to the recent deal that saw Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX use USD1 to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. According to CoinMarketCap data, the stablecoin’s market cap shot up from under $137 million on May 1 to nearly $2.13 billion on May 2.

Eric Trump announced the deal during a panel discussion at Token2049 in Dubai. Trump, the son of the president, serves as executive vice president of the Trump Organization. He said during the event:

“The US is seeing that the financial world has to progress. It’s a joke. Why do banks run nine to five, Monday to Friday, with an hour and a half of lunch break? It doesn’t make sense.”

Much like the memecoin, the USD1 stablecoin also attracted its fair share of criticism. In early April, some US lawmakers went as far as to allege that Trump wanted to replace the US dollar with USD1.

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Politics

America’s crypto renaissance is already failing; but we can fix it

Published

6 hours ago

May 5, 2025

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America’s crypto renaissance is already failing; but we can fix it

Opinion by: Shane Molidor, Founder, Forgd

For years, launching a crypto project in the United States has been a maze of uncertainty. Legal ambiguity and a hostile regulatory environment have driven founders offshore, turning places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands into global hubs for blockchain innovation.

With Trump’s election, things finally started to change, with a US administration openly declaring its intention to be crypto-friendly. Yet, despite the rhetoric, nothing concrete has changed so far.

Launching a crypto project in the US is just as difficult as ever. US regulatory agencies continue to offer nothing but vague threats and “regulation by enforcement” lawsuits. America wants to be a leader in crypto, but, even under the Trump administration, it isn’t taking action to create the conditions that would make that happen.

Killing crypto in America

Every crypto project faces the same fundamental problem: Achieving decentralization is critical to avoid regulatory scrutiny, but until a project launches its token, a degree of centralization is unavoidable.

The SEC’s outdated Howey test ensures that nearly every legitimate crypto project gets classified as a security. The logic is self-defeating. Projects can’t decentralize without launching a token, but launching a token in the US instantly puts them in the SEC’s crosshairs.

This isn’t just a theoretical issue; it has real consequences. Liquidity providers, essential for all new token launches, won’t engage with US-based projects because they assume their tokens will be classified as securities. Centralized exchanges refuse to list tokens issued from US entities for the same reason. Even decentralized exchanges face pressure from their legal teams to avoid actively seeding liquidity for American projects. The result? US founders are boxed out of the global crypto economy before they even get started.

Offshore jurisdictions are winning

This regulatory failure has spawned an entire cottage industry of offshore legal firms specializing in setting up token-issuing entities. With its FINMA no-action letter system, Switzerland has become a hotbed for crypto projects because it offers one of the few structured ways to get legal clarity on a token’s classification. The Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands have also established themselves as crypto safe havens, providing flexible corporate structures that allow projects to operate with far less regulatory risk.

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The absurdity is that the actual work — the development, the hiring, the innovation — still happens in the US. The token issuance gets pushed offshore via “Associations” and “Foundations,” which serve non-profits operating independently of US-based development shops. American founders are forced to funnel money into unnecessary legal fees, overseas operators, and shell foundations to avoid the inevitable crackdown from US regulators. This isn’t just bad for crypto; it’s bad for America. Until it can be solved, the US will continue to hemorrhage talent, investment, and influence to less myopic jurisdictions.

Make America crypto-friendly

The US has spent years fumbling crypto policy, and now, even with an administration that claims to be pro-crypto, it’s still failing to deliver real change. The solution isn’t to promise capital gains tax exemptions on crypto, as some have suggested. That does little to ameliorate the punishing regulatory landscape US-based projects are forced to navigate. If the US truly wants to lead in crypto, it also must take the lead in providing regulatory clarity.

That means finally recognizing that the same regulations that have governed traditional financial markets can’t always be applied to crypto. The Howey test doesn’t work. Instead, the government must provide a new and functional legal framework for the crypto industry.

It’s time for US legislators and regulators to acknowledge that crypto tokens can’t achieve decentralization instantaneously and almost always require the efforts of a team of core contributors to bootstrap initial growth and development. The federal government must devise a version of the Howey test that does not automatically classify every new crypto token as a security but instead allows tokens a grace period to decentralize. In conjunction with this, the US must establish new protections to ensure insiders aren’t unduly benefiting from crypto projects while they scale.

In addition to swiftly ending the “regulation by enforcement” approach employed under Gary Gensler’s SEC, a tactic seemingly designed to gradually smother crypto activity in the US, the government must provide clear guidelines. It needs to be feasible for market makers to evaluate whether US tokens are commodities or securities with a degree of stability and predictability. This is the only way to end the blanket bans market makers have placed on US tokens and bring crypto development back to America.

America’s window of opportunity is closing

Crypto founders aren’t waiting for Washington to figure it out. Every day, without clear regulations, more crypto projects are incorporated offshore. The US doesn’t even need to “embrace” crypto. It just needs to stop actively driving it away.

If this administration truly wants to make the US the leader in crypto, it needs to move beyond campaign slogans and start fixing the fundamental problems that forced this industry offshore in the first place. And it needs to act fast.

Opinion by: Shane Molidor, Founder, Forgd.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Politics

Indonesia suspends WorldID over alleged registration violations

Published

9 hours ago

May 5, 2025

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Indonesia suspends WorldID over alleged registration violations

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s digital identity project World, formerly Worldcoin, is facing challenges in Indonesia amid local regulators temporarily suspending its registration certificates.

The Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Digital (Komdigi) has halted the Electronic System Operator Certificate Registration (TDPSE) for World and World ID over suspicious activity and alleged registration violations, the authority announced on May 4.

After the suspension, Komdigi plans to summon World’s local subsidiaries, PT Terang Bulan Abadi and PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara, to provide clarification on the alleged violations, it said.

According to a preliminary investigation, World’s PT Terang Bulan Abadi was allegedly operating without TDPSE, while PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara — the one World was using for providing its services — is allegedly involved in legal misrepresentation.

Indonesian law requires registration by all digital service providers

In the statement, Komdigi emphasized that all digital service providers in Indonesia must receive electronic registration in accordance with local laws.

Additionally, using another entity’s registration is considered a major breach of Indonesian digital operations law, the authority noted.

“Worldcoin services are recorded using TDPSE in the name of another legal entity, namely PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara,” Alexander Sabar, the Komdigi’s director general for digital supervision, said in the announcement, adding:

“Noncompliance with registration obligations and the use of the identity of another legal entity to carry out digital services is a serious violation.”

Community action required

According to Sabar, World’s temporary suspension in Indonesia is a measure taken to prevent potential risks to the community.

He mentioned that the digital ministry is committed to overseeing the digital ecosystem fairly and strictly to ensure the security of the national digital space.

A proper supervision would require active participation from the community, Sabar added, stating:

“We invite the public to help maintain a safe and trusted digital space for all citizens. Komdigi also appeals to the public to remain vigilant against unauthorized digital services, and to immediately report suspected violations through the official public complaint channel.”

In the meantime, the community has apparently been divided over action by Komdigi.

“Good job Indonesia — at least somebody is standing up to that scam,” one commentator wrote on Reddit.

Others fired back, hinting at potential benefits stemming from World’s offering in Indonesia for the general public.

“If giving up your iris biometrics means you can feed your loved ones for a few weeks, that might be a trade worth making. In the end, it all depends on what matters most to you,” another Redditor said.

World’s latest news from Indonesia follows World’s debut in the United States in May 2025, with the platform rolling out its digital identity tech in six cities initially.

A number of global regulators were pushing back on World’s operations since its launch in July 2023, with governments like Germany, Kenya and Brazil expressing concerns over potential risks to the security of biometric data passed by users.

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