Sir Keir Starmer to promise ‘better bargain’ for UK in major economic speech

Published

1 year ago

December 4, 2023

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Sir Keir Starmer will promise a “better bargain” for the British public in a major speech that will focus on the need for economic growth over spending.

The Labour leader will warn that his government would not be able to “turn on the spending taps” and will instead have to be “ruthless” when it comes to fiscal responsibility.

In a major speech hosted by the Resolution Foundation thinktank, Sir Keir will say the current state of the public finances will place “huge constraints” on what Labour can spend on public services.

“Growth will have to become Labour’s obsession if we are to turn around the economy,” he will say.

It follows a report by the thinktank which found that the UK has experienced 15 years of relative decline, with productivity growth at half the rate seen across other advanced economies, while wages have flatlined, costing the average worker £10,700 a year in lost pay growth.

The Resolution Foundation report also found that living standards of the lowest-income households in the UK are £4,300 lower than their French counterparts.

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Starmer accused of ‘holding the Tory party’s pint’

Sir Keir will make his speech after an article he wrote in the Daily Telegraph generated controversy for its praise of former Tory prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

The Labour leader said the late Baroness Thatcher brought about “meaningful change” in the UK as she “sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism” during her 11 years in Downing Street.

The remarks have angered some MPs on the left of his party, with one telling Sky News they believed it meant Sir Keir “intends to govern without any real political project of his own”.

“It means meaningful or transformational change is well and truly off the table,” they added.

“He is in effect holding the Tory party’s pint, whilst they get themselves ready to run the country again.”

Sir Keir later sought to clarify his comments, telling the BBC his intention was to compare the “drift” of recent years with the “sense of mission” embodied by previous leaders – including Labour prime ministers Clement Attlee and Sir Tony Blair.

“It doesn’t mean I agree with what she [Thatcher] did, but I don’t think anybody could suggest she didn’t have a driving sense of purpose,” he explained.

Economy ‘biggest issue’ at next election

Speaking to Sky News this morning, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, Pat McFadden, said the economy was going to be the “biggest issue” at the next election “because we’ve got taxes at a very high level”.

“We’ve had growth at a low level. We’ve had stagnating incomes. Public services are creaking. When you add it all up, it’s been a bad bargain for the British people,” he said.

Asked about his views on Baroness Thatcher, Mr McFadden said the word “admire” was “not the word I’d use”.

“I recognise she won [the general election] three times,” he said.

“I would hope if we were going to win elections, we would make change with the same determination but not in the same direction,” he added.

Pressed on what word he would use instead, Mr McFadden added: “She was successful electorally.”

Starmer to follow Thatcher praise with Churchill reference

In his speech today, Sir Keir will argue that “Britain is going backwards” under Rishi Sunak’s leadership and that the “political consensus” that hard work will be rewarded has “become nothing short of a lie for millions of people” under the Conservatives.

“Taxes are higher than at any time since the war, none of which was true in 2010,” he will say.

And following his praise for Baroness Thatcher, Sir Keir will also put a twist on a famous quote from another Tory prime minister – Winston Churchill.

He is expected to say: “Never before has a British government asked its people to pay so much, for so little.”

“Inflation, debt, taxes; we face huge constraints,” he will add.

Sir Keir is also expected to say: “This parliament is on track to be the first in modern history where living standards in this country have actually contracted.

“Household income growth is down by 3.1% and Britain is worse off.”

Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden said in response: “The largest ‘constraint’ to growing the economy would be Labour’s £28bn a year borrowing plan, which independent economists warn would see inflation, interest rates and people’s taxes rise.

“It is the same old short-term approach from Labour – borrow more and the British people will pay more.”

Politics

SEC and Gemini ask to pause lawsuit to explore ‘potential resolution’

Published

3 hours ago

April 2, 2025

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SEC and Gemini ask to pause lawsuit to explore ‘potential resolution’

The US Securities and Exchange Commission and crypto exchange Gemini have asked to pause the regulator’s suit over the exchange’s Gemini Earn program, saying they want to discuss a potential resolution.

In an April 1 letter to New York federal court judge Edgardo Ramos, lawyers representing the SEC and Genesis requested a 60-day hold on the case and that all deadlines be pulled “to allow the parties to explore a potential resolution.”

“In this case, the parties submit that it is in each of their interests to stay this matter while they consider a potential resolution and agree that no party or non-party would be prejudiced by a stay,” the letter states.

The lawyers added that a stay was in the court’s interest as “a resolution would conserve judicial resources” and proposed that a joint status report be submitted within 60 days after the entry of the stay.

The SEC sued Gemini and crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital in January 2023, alleging they offered unregistered securities through the Gemini Earn program.

In March 2024, Genesis agreed to pay $21 million to settle charges related to the lending program, but the enforcement case against Gemini remains outstanding.

The letter did not specify what a possible resolution would entail, but the SEC has dropped several lawsuits it launched against crypto companies under the Biden administration, including against Coinbase, Ripple and Kraken.

In February, Gemini said the SEC closed a separate investigation into the firm as the regulator winds back its crypto enforcement under President Donald Trump.

“The SEC cost us tens of millions of dollars in legal bills alone and hundreds of millions in lost productivity, creativity, and innovation. Of course, Gemini is not alone,” Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said at the time.

OpenSea, Crypto.com and Uniswap, among others, have also recently reported that the SEC had closed similar probes into their companies that were investigating alleged breaches of securities laws.

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Politics

Crypto PAC-backed Republicans win US House seats in Florida special elections

Published

3 hours ago

April 2, 2025

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Crypto PAC-backed Republicans win US House seats in Florida special elections

Two Republicans who received a combined $1.5 million from the crypto-backed political action committee (PAC) Fairshake will enter the US House after winning special elections in Florida.

Republican Jimmy Patronis won the vacant seat in Florida’s 1st Congressional District to replace Matt Gaetz, taking 57% of the vote to defeat Democrat Gay Valimont, according to AP News data.

Randy Fine also took Florida’s 6th Congressional District with 56.7% of the vote to beat his Democratic rival, public school teacher Josh Weil, and fill a seat left vacant by Mike Waltz, who took a job as White House national security adviser.

Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts — located in Florida’s western panhandle and along the state’s northeast coast — have been controlled by Republicans for roughly 30 years, but their lead has narrowed in recent years.

Fairshake, a PAC backed by crypto industry giants including Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz, gave Fine around $1.16 million in advertising spending and funneled $347,000 to Patronis to support his campaign.

Both Republicans have expressed support for the crypto industry, with Fine stating in a Jan. 14 X post that “Floridians want crypto innovation!”

Fairshake and its affiliates poured around $170 million into the 2024 US presidential and congressional elections to back candidates who committed to supporting the crypto industry.

The wins by Patronis and Fine increased Republican representation in the House to 220 seats, with the Democrats holding 213 seats.

There are two vacant seats to be filled after Texas and Arizona Democrats Sylvester Turner and Raúl Grijalva died on March 5 and March 13, respectively.

Florida can expect to see a crypto-friendly regulatory environment

The victories for Patronis and Fine likely mean that crypto legislation will continue to see support in the US capital.

The Republican Party would have maintained its House majority even if it lost both seats in Florida, but it would have made it more difficult for some of the recently introduced Republican-backed crypto bills to pass through the House and Senate.

At the Digital Assets Summit on March 18, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna said he believes Congress “should be able to get” both a stablecoin and crypto market structure bill done this year.

Bills that could eventually make their way to the House include the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which passed the Senate Banking Committee in an 18-6 vote on March 13.

Senator Cynthia Lummis also reintroduced a Bitcoin reserve bill about a week after the Trump administration announced the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve on March 6, with the legislation referred to the Senate Banking Committee on March 11.

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Politics

UK trade bodies ask government to make crypto a ‘strategic priority’

Published

5 hours ago

April 2, 2025

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UK trade bodies ask government to make crypto a ‘strategic priority’

Several British trade associations have asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office to appoint a special envoy dedicated to crypto and for a dedicated action plan for digital assets and blockchain technology.

In a March 31 letter, the coalition of six UK digital economy trade bodies urged Starmer’s special adviser on business and investment, Varun Chandra, for a “greater strategic focus and alignment to deliver investment, growth and jobs” for the crypto industry.

The group, which consisted of the UK Cryptoasset Business Council, Global Digital Finance, The Payments Association, Digital Currencies Governance Group, the Crypto Council for Innovation and techUK, noted the US policy shift on crypto under President Donald Trump and his appointment of a crypto czar.

Britain’s commitment to an economic trade deal focused on technological cooperation with the US “presents a significant opportunity to mirror the United States’ ambition in fostering leadership in blockchain, digital assets, and other emerging financial technologies,” the letter stated.

The group recommended that the UK appoint a blockchain special envoy, similar to the US, to coordinate policy, foster innovation, and position the country competitively in global markets.

The trade bodies also called for the development of a dedicated government action plan for crypto and blockchain technology, including a concierge service to attract high-potential firms.

They added that the government should acknowledge and leverage the commonalities between blockchain, quantum computing and artificial intelligence technologies, including potential applications for government services.

Another recommendation was to create a high-level industry-government-regulator engagement forum to ensure informed decision-making and cross-sector collaboration.

“With deep pools of talent, access to capital, world-class academic institutions, and sophisticated regulators, the UK provides an environment where digital assets and blockchain innovation can thrive,” they stated.

The coalition argues that crypto and blockchain technology could boost the UK economy by 57 billion British pounds ($73.6 billion) over the next decade, with the sector potentially increasing global gross domestic product by 1.39 trillion pounds ($1.8 trillion) by 2030.

Tom Griffiths, the co-founder and managing partner of crypto compliance advisory firm BitCompli, said in response to the letter on LinkedIn that the Financial Conduct Authority “has a lot of talent and a good sight of future plans, but the UK is definitely losing pace with Dubai, Singapore, and other EU jurisdictions.”

“Now is the time for the FCA to act, or the UK will lose out on this huge opportunity, which is digital assets and all the benefits this sector can bring, not only now but over the next 20 years,” he added.

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