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In 1935, the American novelist Sinclair Lewis published a political novel entitled It Couldn’t Happen Here. The book was really a warning of what could go wrong depicting the rise of a fascist dictator and society in the US.

Fortunately, it turned out to be unnecessary. America was the leading force establishing the post-war democratic world order and, imperfectly, creating a “great society” and establishing civil rights.

That was then. Now, in defiance of multiple criminal indictments, Donald Trump is the favourite to be re-elected president of the US next year.

He openly espouses many of the “America First” attitudes that are satirised in Lewis’s story.

Meanwhile, It Could Happen Here is the title of a popular critical podcast that, according to promotional blurb, takes “a jaunty walk through the burning ruins of the old world”.

Those who say “only in America” are kidding themselves.

Politicians who can be described as populist nationalists have already entered government through the ballot box in Turkey, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Italy.

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In Spain, France and Germany, far-right parties are gaining strength and are already power brokers, driving the policies of mainstream parties in their direction.

In Ireland, a rabble of some 200 blockaded the Dail for an afternoon last week, January 6-style they brought along a mock gallows, decorated with images of members of the traditional parties and the police commissioner.

In Argentina, Javier Milei, an anarcho-capitalist who has called the Pope “a piece of s***”, is current favourite to be the next president.

Meanwhile, rising global powers such as the Peoples’ Republic of China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are autocratic dictatorships.

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‘It’s Trump or death’

It could happen here

Those who see themselves as centrists – whether centre-right or centre-left – in this country still comfort themselves that the UK is not as polarised as the US and that the British have always been moderate. We would never saddle ourselves with an autocratic government.

And yet, in our society, as elsewhere, there is widespread dissatisfaction with the way things are and an urge to seek out others to blame. Opinion polls find that younger adults are increasingly losing faith in representative democracy.

Read more:
A general election isn’t far away – and Labour need to make Sir Keir look like a PM
Sunak will not go quietly – and will do what it takes to shift the dial ahead of election

Small “l” liberalism means entertaining and even encouraging the expression of points of view on all sides of an argument.

This is not the position taken either by populists on the right, who want to coerce and overrule those with whom they disagree or by those on the left embracing “cancel culture”.

The common enemy of the extremes is the centre.

Centrism accepts rules-based order and the operation of checks and balances between what people ask for, the politicians who try to satisfy them and the legal structures that constrain them. As society evolves, we assume democratic systems have the capacity to adjust to them.

Populism rejects this approach. It is intolerant. It denounces the status quo and exaggerates how bad things are, without taking any political responsibility.

Trump talked about “American carnage” and is now belittling fellow Republicans competing for his party’s nomination.

Suella Braverman flies out to a right-wing American thinktank to attack the past 25 years’ immigration policy “too much, too quick, with too little thought” when her Conservative Party has been in government for the past 13 of those years.

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Braverman uses ‘unprecedented’ language

Populists talk tough about law and order for others but have little respect for it when they fall foul of it. The “good chap” theory of politics, described by Lord (Peter) Hennessy, would have barred a return by Braverman as home secretary, after she resigned for breaching the ministerial code.

But Rishi Sunak needed to hug her close to shore up his shaky unelected hold on the Conservative Party leadership, so they both looked the other way. Sympathetic Tory politicians and news outlets lauded the vandalism on ULEZ enforcement devices.

Trump views any legal curb on his behaviour as unjustified and politically motivated. Trump and the Republican Senate have successfully politicised the Supreme Court in their image.

In Israel, Trump’s friend Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting much the same, apparently to save himself from prosecutions for corruption.

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Targeting checks and balances

Would-be autocrats try to undermine any independent authorities they cannot dominate. Boris Johnson’s challenge to the monarchy, the courts and parliament was an overt attempt to break them as regulating forces.

A similar approach is evident where this country is a participant, voluntarily and with a voice, in international organisations concerned with multi-lateral issues.

The Take Back Control slogan from Leave EU was a pure expression of this destructive and deluded impulse.

Now the government is floating leaving the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) as “a warning shot” to the Strasbourg court.

Any government should argue its case vigorously, attempts to coerce justice with threats are a different matter. The ECHR was established after 1945 to prevent authoritarians persecuting minorities again.

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Evidently, such angry political posturing attracts support, especially when times are as hard and as globally competitive as they are now.

But even when, as at present, the majority do not go along blaming others – whether migrants or mainstream media and politicians – mobilising core voters can yield big dividends.

In the United States, skewed constitutional arrangements have resulted in the Republicans winning control in the White House and Congress, when significantly defeated in the popular vote.

Johnson and Truss owed their prime ministership to Conservative Party activists, not the electorate. Sunak was installed by the passive aggression of Tory MPs.

In continental Europe, populists have broken through by founding new parties, such as Vox and Alternative für Deutschland. In the US and UK, they have risen on the inside of existing parties, which command automatic, unthinking, legacy loyalty from some voters.

Trump was elected because he was able to take over the Republicans, the Grand Old Party, even though he had no track record within it.

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Can the Tories win voters back?

What if the Tories win?

In this country, some voters, and much of the media, will accommodate the Conservative Party and give it their backing, irrespective of where its leaders are taking it.

The Tories could win the next election, more likely obeying the pendulum theory of politics beloved of centrists, at a subsequent contest. What will they stand for when they get into power again?

In anticipation of possible defeat at the approaching election, the Conservative Party is already in a state of civil war about where it goes next.

Following the purges conducted by Johnson, and the despairing retirements precipitated by Truss, the centre-right of the party is in a weakened state.

Braverman and Kemi Badenoch are favourites to contest the party leadership, assuming that Sunak does not pre-empt them by continuing to stampede in their rightward, negativist, policy direction.

There are a lot of ifs, which would have to be made real. It would then, of course, be what people voted for. It would kill off the centrist consensus, which has prevailed in this country for centuries.

But, more possible than ever, it could happen here.

Watch Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips at 8.30am on Sky News – live from the Conservative Party conference. He will be joined by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, and Labour’s shadow Scotland secretary Ian Murray.

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

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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.

Space Café director Marie Moss says a sense of community has faded
Image:
Space Cafe director Marie Moss says a sense of community has faded

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.

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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.

Runcorn 2024 result
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Runcorn 2024 result

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?

Taxi driver Mike Holland has voted for Labour for decades, but is looking at the Liberal Democrats and Greens, or may not vote
Image:
Taxi driver Mike Holland has voted for Labour for decades, but is now looking at the Lib Dems and Greens – or may not vote at all

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.

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

Read more:
Tough test for Labour after MP quits
MP jailed for late-night brawl
Local elections could re-shape politics

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.

Nadine Tan is concerned about division and anger in the community
Image:
Makeup artist Nadine Tan is concerned about division and anger in the community

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.

Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury walks outside Chester Magistrates Court.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Labour MP Mike Amesbury was convicted of punching a man in the street. Pic: Reuters

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

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Solana’s Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack

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<div>Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after .8M hack</div>

<div>Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after .8M hack</div>

Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Loopscale has temporarily halted its lending markets after suffering an approximately $5.8 million exploit. 

On April 26, a hacker siphoned approximately 5.7 million USDC (USDC) and 1200 Solana (SOL) from the lending protocol after taking out a “series of undercollateralized loans”, Loopscale co-founder Mary Gooneratne said in an X post. 

The exploit only impacted Loopscale’s USDC and SOL vaults and the losses represent around 12% of Loopscale’s total value locked (TVL), Gooneratne added. 

Loopscale is “working to resume repayment functionality as soon as possible to mitigate unforeseen liquidations,” its said in an X post. 

“Our team is fully mobilized to investigate, recover funds, and ensure users are protected,” Gooneratne said.

Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack
Loopscale’s ‘Genesis’ lending vaults. Source: Loopscale

In the first quarter of 2025, hackers stole more than $1.6 billion worth of crypto from exchanges and on-chain smart contracts, blockchain security firm PeckShield said in an April report. 

More than 90% of those losses are attributable to a $1.5 billion attack on ByBit, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange, by North Korean hacking outfit Lazarus Group.

Related: Crypto hacks top $1.6B in Q1 2025 — PeckShield

Unique DeFi lending model

Launched on April 10 after a six-month closed beta, Loopscale is a DeFi lending protocol designed to enhance capital efficiency by directly matching lenders and borrowers.

It also supports specialized lending markets, such as “structured credit, receivables financing, and undercollateralized lending,” Loopscale said in an April announcement shared with Cointelegraph. 

Loopscale’s order book model distinguishes it from DeFi lending peers such as Aave that aggregate cryptocurrency deposits into liquidity pools.

Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack
Loopscale’s daily active users. Source: Mary Gooneratne

Loopscale’s main USDC and SOL vaults yield APRs exceeding 5% and 10%, respectively. It also supports lending markets for tokens such as JitoSOL and BONK (BONK) and looping strategies for upwards of 40 different token pairs. 

The DeFi protocol has approximately $40 million in TVL and has attracted upwards of 7,000 lenders, according to researcher OurNetwork.

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

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US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner

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US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner

US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner

United States Senator Jon Ossoff expressed support for impeaching President Donald Trump during an April 25 town hall, citing the President’s plan to host a private dinner for top Official Trump memecoin holders. 

“I mean, I saw just 48 hours ago, he is granting audiences to people who buy his meme coin,” said Ossoff, a Democrat, according to a report by NBC News. 

“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.”

Senator Ossoff said he “strongly” supports impeachment proceedings during a town hall in the state of Georgia, where he is running for reelection to the Senate.

The Senator added that an impeachment is unlikely unless the Democratic Party gains control of Congress during the US midterm elections in 2026. Trump’s own Republican Party currently has a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner
TRUMP holders can register to dine with the US President. Source: gettrumpmemes.com

Related: US lawmaker says TRUMP coin could risk national security

Conflicts of interest

On April 23, the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin’s website announced plans for Trump to host an exclusive dinner at his Washington, DC golf club with the top 220 TRUMP holders. 

The website subsequently posted a leaderboard tracking top TRUMP wallets and a link to register for the event. The TRUMP token’s price has gained more than 50% since the announcement, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The specific guest list is unclear, but the memecoin’s website states that applicants must pass a background check, “can not be from a [Know Your Customer] watchlist country,” and cannot bring any additional guests.

On April 25, the team behind TRUMP denied social media rumors that TRUMP holders need at least $300,000 to participate in an upcoming dinner with the president.

“People have been incorrectly quoting #220 on the block explorer as the cutoff. That’s wrong because it includes things like locked tokens, exchanges, market makers, and those who are not participating. Instead, you should only be going off the leaderboard,” they wrote.

Law, Politics, Senate, Donald Trump, trumpcoin, Memecoin
The TRUMP token jumped on news of the private dinner plans. Source: CoinMarketCap

Legal experts told Cointelegraph that Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures, including the TRUMP memecoin and Trump-affiliated decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol World Liberty Financial, raise significant concerns about potential conflicts of interest

“Within just a couple of days of him taking office, he’s signed a number of executive orders that are significantly going to affect the way that our crypto and digital assets industry works,” Charlyn Ho of law firm Rikka told Cointelegraph in February. 

“So if he has a personal pecuniary benefit arising from his own policies, that’s a conflict of interest.”

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

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