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Greg Hands has said he will not resign as Conservative Party chair despite the government suffering another two by-election defeats in safe Tory seats.

Mr Hands said the results in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire – where the Labour Party overturned substantial Tory majorities – were “clearly disappointing”, but blamed low turnout among traditional Conservative voters.

He sought to deflect blame away from Rishi Sunak, saying the defeats – which came on the back of two by-election losses in July – were the result of “legacy issues” that pre-dated Mr Sunak’s time in office.

Asked whether he would consider his position as party chair in light of the defeats, Mr Hands replied: “No.”

Mr Hands, who was appointed Tory party chair in February, said “clearly there’s unhappiness with the Conservative Party” as he admitted the party needed to “reflect” on why its voters did not go to the polls.

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“I might say that the big problem we have is still Conservative voters staying at home,” Mr Hands told Sky News.

“The Labour vote hardly went up at all, in fact it went down slightly in Mid Bedfordshire, no breakthrough for the Liberal Democrats.

“But clearly disappointing for us and we’ll have to reflect on the fact that a large number of Conservative voters stayed at home.”

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Double by-election defeat for Tories

However, he said the Tories will be “very hopeful of regaining those two seats” at the next election.

Mr Hands’s decision to stay in post comes in contrast to his predecessor, Oliver Dowden, who quit as party chair following two by-election defeats in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield last year.

The Labour Party is celebrating after it claimed two by-election victories in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and in Mid Bedfordshire.

The by-elections had been called following the resignations of the previous MPs Chris Pincher and Nadine Dorries.

Mr Pincher resigned in September after he lost an appeal against an eight-week suspension from the Commons following the groping allegations that precipitated the downfall of Boris Johnson as prime minister.

Former cabinet minister Ms Dorries officially resigned in August – 81 days after she announced she would quit the Commons with “immediate effect”.

In Tamworth, the Conservatives were defending a 19,600 majority, but a 23.9 percentage point swing to Labour saw that eradicated.

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‘Country is so desperate for change’

The historic result, declared shortly before 3am, was the second-highest-ever by-election swing to Labour.

Mid Bedfordshire saw the largest numeric Tory majority ever overturned by Labour at a by-election since 1945.

The Conservatives have held the rural seat since 1931, winning with a 24,664 majority in 2019.

Mr Hands stressed there were “very specific circumstances” surrounding the by-elections in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire and that he believed they were not a “good indicator” of how the general election will turn out.

The party’s defeats have been criticised by its own MPs, with Dame Andrea Jenkyns saying the Tories needed to make “far-reaching major changes now”.

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Writing on social media, Dame Andrea said: “Voter apathy is evident yet again in both the #ByElections, low turnout -20k failed to turnout in Tamworth, 24k failed to turnout in Mid Beds since the last election.

“We need to make far-reaching major changes now to instil confidence in the Conservative voters.”

David Frost, the UK’s former chief Brexit negotiator, said the results were “extremely bad for my party”.

“I don’t think it helps to suggest otherwise, as some party figures have done this morning,” he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“The current national polls are dreadful for us but these results are even worse.

“Yes, things are different at by-elections and there were probably special factors. But these results show that the national polls are broadly correct and that a strategy of denial is unlikely to work.”

But Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden said the results overnight were “not normal” for the Tories.

“These were not constituencies that were even on our target list, so really big, important results, indicating change in politics,” he told Sky News.

“We’re absolutely delighted with our victories last night but of course conscious as well that we’ve still got a lot of work to do between now and a general election.”

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CFTC seeks to allow spot crypto trading on registered exchanges

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CFTC seeks to allow spot crypto trading on registered exchanges

CFTC seeks to allow spot crypto trading on registered exchanges

The CFTC is seeking feedback on how to more effectively regulate spot crypto trading as it moves to implement recommendations from the Trump administration.

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No 10 decline to say if Palestine will be recognised with Hamas in power

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No 10 decline to say if Palestine will be recognised with Hamas in power

The prime minister’s spokesman has refused eight times to confirm whether recognition of Palestine could go ahead if Hamas remain in power and the hostages are not released. 

Keir Starmer’s spokesman was questioned by journalists for the first time since the announcement last week that the UK will formally recognise the state in September – unless Israel meets certain conditions including abiding by a ceasefire and increasing aid.

The policy has been criticised by the families of UK hostages, campaigners and some Labour MPs, who argue it would reward Hamas and say it should be conditional on the release of the remaining hostages.

A senior Hamas politician, Ghazi Hamad, speaking to Al Jazeera, said at the weekend that major nations’ decision to recognise a Palestinian state “is one of the fruits of 7 October”.

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The PM’s spokesman said on Monday: “The PM is clear that on 7 October, Hamas committed the worst act of terror in Israel’s history. That horror has continued since then.

“As the foreign secretary said over the weekend, Hamas are rightly pariahs who can have no role in Gaza’s future, there is a diplomatic consensus on that. Hamas must immediately release all hostages and have no role in the governance of Gaza.”

But asked whether removing Hamas from power and releasing hostages were conditions for statehood, he said a decision on recognition would be made at the UN General Assembly meeting in September, based on “an assessment of how far the parties have met the steps we have set out. No one side will have veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.”

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Up to 300 children could be evacuated from Gaza and given NHS treatment in the UK. The plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks.

He added: “Our focus is on the immediate situation on the ground, getting more aid in to end the suffering in Gaza and supporting a ceasefire and a long-term peace for Israelis and Palestinians based a two-state solution.”

Starmer, who recalled his cabinet for an emergency meeting last week before setting out the new position, is following the lead of French president Emmanuel Macron, who first pledged to move toward recognising Palestinian statehood in April.

Read more:
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Canada has also backed recognition if conditions are met, including by the Palestinian Authority.

The prime minister had previously said he would recognise a state of Palestine as part of a contribution to a peace process.

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Efforts to bring Gazan children to the UK for urgent medical treatment are set to be accelerated under new government plans.

In his announcement last Tuesday, he said: “We need to see at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day. But ultimately, the only way to bring this humanitarian crisis to an end is through a long-term settlement.

“So we are supporting the US, Egyptian and Qatari efforts to secure a vital ceasefire. That ceasefire must be sustainable and it must lead to a wider peace plan, which we are developing with our international partners.

“I’ve always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution. With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act.”

Adam Rose, a lawyer acting for British families of hostages in Gaza, has said: “Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?”

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Coinbase turns lobbying efforts to UK in scathing op-ed

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Coinbase turns lobbying efforts to UK in scathing op-ed

Coinbase turns lobbying efforts to UK in scathing op-ed

Former UK Chancellor and current Coinbase adviser George Osborne says the UK is falling behind in the cryptocurrency market, particularly when it comes to stablecoins.

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