Labour pledges more power for OBR to prevent repeat of Liz Truss’s ‘disastrous’ mini-budget

Published

2 years ago

September 22, 2023

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Labour has pledged to bolster the power of the UK’s economic watchdog to prevent a repeat of the “disastrous mistakes” of Liz Truss’s mini-budget.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to introduce legislation that would allow the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to independently publish their own impact assessment of any major and permanent tax and spending changes.

His shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said it meant that “never again” can the “disastrous mistakes” of the former prime minister be repeated, ahead of the first anniversary of her “fiscal event”.

Tories accuse Starmer of wanting to ‘return to agonies of the past’ – politics latest

The mini-budget last September spooked the markets and sparked a huge economic fallout, pushing up government borrowing costs and putting certain pension funds on the brink of collapse.

One of the reasons for the markets’ reaction was that Ms Truss and her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, refused to publish the OBR’s independent forecasts for the public finances alongside the plans.

The party said under its plans, ministers would be forced to open their books to the forecasters – though any government wanting to disregard them could seek to reverse the legislation.

It said families and businesses are “still paying the price” for her “crashing the economy” – with households coming off fixed rate mortgages paying an average of £220 more a month and inflation forecast to be the highest in the G7.

They have billed their proposal as a “fiscal lock” which would ensure fiscal stability by:

Amending the legal framework governing the OBR to guarantee that where a fiscal event makes permanent tax and spending changes over a certain threshold, the fiscal watchdog can independently publish a forecast of the impact
Setting out the threshold in a revised charter of budget responsibility, that would be voted on in Parliament
Ensuring that in the event of an emergency where changes must be introduced at speed and a forecast cannot be produced in time, the OBR would be allowed to set a date for when it can publish its forecast
Setting out a fixed timetable for budgets that would say major fiscal decisions are announced by the end of November each year, allowing businesses and families four months to prepare for the new tax year and avoiding major changes to policy at the last minute
Annual autumn budgets would be followed by a spring update in early March providing an updated forecast and minor policy changes

James Murray, Labour’s shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News this morning it was “absolutely crucial to legislate because we all remember what happened a year ago”.

He accused the Tories of having “set the economy on fire” with the mini-budget that “sidelined the OBR”.

“Never again should a prime minister and a chancellor be able to play fast and loose with public finances and damage the economy and household budgets in the way they have,” he added.

Speaking ahead of a visit with the Labour leader to the London Stock Exchange on Friday, the shadow chancellor said: “The economic damage done by the Conservatives’ mini-budget was nothing short of disastrous and Britain is still paying the price, with higher mortgages, higher energy bills and higher prices in the shops.

“As chancellor, my mission will be to bring stability back to our economy because that is the only way we can bring growth back. Never again can a prime minister or chancellor be allowed to repeat the disastrous mistakes of last year’s mini-budget.

“Labour will introduce a new fiscal lock to strengthen the UK’s financial stability to prevent the turmoil we witnessed this time last year. Labour will ensure stability returns to our economy and on that rock of stability working people will be better off.”

Labour has been seeking to pitch itself as fiscally prudent, prioritising stabilising the economy over big spending commitments in a move that has angered some unions and those on the left.

They have sought to weaponise the anniversary of the Truss mini-budget to hammer home their message of fiscal responsibility, while highlighting the government’s record on the economy.

Ms Truss’ £45bn package of unfunded tax cuts, which she admitted would primarily have benefited the wealthy, sent the pound tumbling, interest rates soaring and culminated with the Bank of England having to intervene to prevent pension markets from collapsing.

Although she rowed back on her measures and sacked her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, it was not enough to save her administration from collapsing and she resigned after just 49 days in the job – making her the shortest serving prime minister in British history.

She is still facing criticism over her actions, with the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney this week accusing her of turning Britain into “Argentina on the Channel” instead of “Singapore on the Thames”.

But Ms Truss has remained unrepentant, blaming “institutional bureaucracy” for her downfall.

Politics

Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

Published

6 hours ago

April 27, 2025

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Bitcoin treasury firms driving 0T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

Investment firms with Bitcoin-focused treasuries are front-running global Bitcoin adoption, which may see the world’s first cryptocurrency soar to a $200 trillion market capitalization in the coming decade.

Institutions and governments worldwide are starting to recognize the unique monetary properties of Bitcoin (BTC), according to Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream and the inventor of Hashcash.

“$MSTR and other treasury companies are an arbitrage of the dislocation between the bitcoin future and todays fiat world,” Back wrote in an April 26 X post.

“A sustainable and scalable $100-$200 trillion trade front-running hyperbitcoinization. scalable enough for most big listed companies to move to btc treasury,” he added.

Hyperbitcoinization refers to the theoretical future where Bitcoin soars to become the largest global currency, replacing fiat money due to its inflationary economics and growing distrust in the legacy financial system.

Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back — *Source:* *Adam Back*

Bitcoin’s price outpacing fiat money inflation remains the main driver of global hyperbitcoinization, Back said, adding:

“Some people think treasury strategy is a temporary glitch. i’m saying no it’s a logical and sustainable arbitrage. but not for ever, the driver is bitcoin price going up over 4 year periods faster than interest and inflation.”

Back’s comments come nearly two months after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a national Bitcoin reserve from BTC forfeited in government criminal cases.

Global firms continue Bitcoin accumulation

Continued Bitcoin investments from the likes of Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, may inspire more global firms to follow suit.

Strategy’s approach is proving to be lucrative, with the firm’s Bitcoin treasury generating over $5.1 billion worth of profit since the beginning of 2025, according to Strategy’s co-founder, Michael Saylor.

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet, also known as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” adopted a similar strategy, since surpassing 5,000 BTC in total holdings on April 24, Cointelegraph reported.

As Asia’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, Metaplanet plans to acquire 21,000 BTC by 2026.

US financial institutions may also have more confidence in adopting Bitcoin after the US Federal Reserve withdrew its 2022 guidance discouraging banks from engaging with cryptocurrency. “Banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin,” Saylor said in response to the guidance withdrawal.

“Banks will now be supervised through normal processes, signaling a more open regulatory environment for digital asset integration,” Nexo dispatch analyst Iliya Kalchev told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

Politics

US crypto rules like ‘floor is lava’ game without lights — Hester Peirce

Published

11 hours ago

April 27, 2025

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<div>US crypto rules like 'floor is lava' game without lights — Hester Peirce</div>

SEC Commissioner and head of the crypto task force, Hester Peirce, says US financial firms are navigating crypto in a way that’s similar to playing the children’s game “the floor is lava,” but in the dark.

“It is time that we find a way to end this game. We need to turn on the lights and build some walkways over the lava pit,” Peirce said at the SEC “Know Your Custodian” roundtable event on April 25.

The lava is crypto, says Peirce

Peirce explained that SEC registrants are forced to approach crypto-related activities like “the floor is lava,” where the aim is to jump from one piece of furniture to the next without touching the ground, except here, touching crypto directly is the lava.

“A D.C. version of this game is our regulatory approach to crypto assets, and crypto asset custody in particular,” she said.

Peirce said that, much like in the game, firms wanting to engage with crypto must avoid directly holding it due to unclear regulatory rules. “To engage in crypto-related activities, SEC-registrants have had to hop from one poorly illuminated regulatory space to the next, all while ensuring that they never touch any crypto asset,” Peirce said.

Cryptocurrencies, SEC, United States — *Source:* *US Securities and Exchange Commission*

Peirce said that investment advisers are often unsure which crypto assets qualify as securities, what entities count as qualified custodians, and whether “exercising staking or voting rights” could trigger custody violations.

“The twist in the regulatory version is that it is largely played in the dark: burning legal lava and no lamps to illuminate the way.”

Peirce also said that a broker or ATS that cannot custody or manage crypto assets will struggle to facilitate trading, making it unlikely for a “robust market” to develop.

Echoing a similar sentiment, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda said at the event that as more SEC registrants work with crypto assets, it’s essential that they have access to custodial options that meet legal and regulatory requirements.

Uyeda said the agency should consider letting advisers use “state-chartered limited-purpose trust companies” with the authority to hold crypto assets as qualified custodians.

Meanwhile, the recently sworn-in chair of the SEC, Paul Atkins, said that he expected “huge benefits” from blockchain technology through efficiency, risk mitigation, transparency, and cutting costs.

He reiterated that among his goals at the SEC would be to facilitate “clear regulatory rules of the road” for digital assets, hinting that the agency under former chair Gary Gensler had contributed to market and regulatory uncertainty.

“I look forward to engaging with market participants and working with colleagues in President Trump’s administration and Congress to establish a rational fit-for-purpose framework for crypto assets,” said Atkins.

Magazine: Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF’s mysterious prison move: Hodler’s Digest, April 19 – 25

Politics

Labour and Reform in battle for Runcorn by-election seat – but disillusionment could be eventual winner

Published

13 hours ago

April 27, 2025

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Labour and Reform in battle for Runcorn by-election seat - but disillusionment could be eventual winner

On the banks of the Mersey, Runcorn and Helsby is a more complicated political picture than the apparent Labour heartland that first presents itself.

Yes, there are industrial and manufacturing areas – an old town that’s fallen victim to out-of-town shopping, and an out-of-town shopping centre that’s fallen victim to Amazon.

But there are also more middle-class new town developments, as well as Tory-facing rural swathes.

One thing this area does mirror with many across the country, though, is a fed-up electorate with little confidence that politics can work for them.

In the Space Cafe in Runcorn Old Town, its director Marie Moss says many in the region remember a time when a sense of community was more acute.

“People were very proud of their town… and that’s why people get upset and emotional as they remember that,” she says.

It’s this feeling of disenfranchisement and nostalgia-tinged yearning for the past that Reform UK is trading off in its targeting of traditional Labour voters here.

Party leader Nigel Farage features heavily on leaflets in these parts, alongside spikey messaging around migration, law and order, and Labour’s record in government so far.

Taxi driver Mike Holland hears frequent worries about that record from those riding in the back of his cab.

A Labour voter for decades, he says locals were “made up” at last year’s election result but have been “astonished” since then, with benefit changes a common topic of concern.

“Getting a taxi is two things, it’s either a luxury or a necessity… the necessity people are the disabled people… and a lot of the old dears are so stressed and worried about their disability allowance and whether they are going to get it or not get it,” he says.

But will that mean straight switchers to Reform UK?

Mike says he agrees with some of what the party is offering but thinks a lot of people are put off by Mr Farage.

He’s now looking at the Liberal Democrats and Greens, both of whom have put up local politicians as candidates.

Or, Mike says, he may just not vote at all.

It’s in places like Runcorn town that some of the political contradictions within Reform UK reveal themselves more clearly.

Many here say they were brought up being told to never vote Tory.

And yet, Reform, chasing their support, has chosen a former Conservative councillor as its candidate.

It’s no surprise Labour has been trialling attack lines in this campaign, painting Mr Farage’s party as “failed Tories”.

As a response to this, look no further than Reform’s recent nod to the left on industrialisation and public ownership.

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But head 15 minutes south from Runcorn docks, and this by-election campaign changes.

Rural areas like Frodsham and Helsby have, in the past, tended towards the Tories.

The Conservatives, of course, have a candidate in this vote, one who stood in a neighbouring constituency last year.

But Reform is now making a hard play for their supporters in these parts, with a softer message compared to the one being put out in urban areas – an attempt to reassure those anxious about too much political revolution coming to their privet-lined streets.

Labour, meanwhile, is actively trying to mobilise the anti-Farage vote by presenting their candidate – another local councillor – as the only person who can stop Reform.

The pitch here is aimed at voters like Frodsham makeup artist Nadine Tan, who are worried about division and anger in the community.

“I think they need to kind of come together and stop trying to divide everyone,” she says.

But like Mike the taxi driver five miles north, disillusionment could be the eventual winner as Nadine says, despite the “thousands of leaflets” through her door, she still thinks “they all say the same thing”.

One factor that doesn’t seem to be swinging too many votes, though, is the insalubrious circumstances in which the area’s former Labour MP left office.

Mike Amesbury stepped down after being convicted of repeatedly punching a constituent in a late-night brawl outside a pub.

But across the patch, many praise their ex-MP’s local efforts, while also saying he was “very silly” to have acted in the way he did.

That may be putting it mildly.

But it’s hard to find much more agreement ahead of Thursday’s vote.

A constituency still hungry for change, but unsure as to who can deliver it.

Full list of candidates, Runcorn and Helsby by-election:

Catherine Anne Blaiklock – English Democrats
Dan Clarke – Liberal Party
Chris Copeman – Green Party
Paul Duffy – Liberal Democrats
Peter Ford – Workers Party
Howling Laud Hope – Monster Raving Loony Party
Sean Houlston – Conservatives
Jason Philip Hughes – Volt UK
Alan McKie – Independent
Graham Harry Moore – English Constitution Party
Paul Andrew Murphy – Social Democratic Party
Sarah Pochin – Reform UK
Karen Shore – Labour
John Stevens – Rejoin EU
Michael Williams – Independent