‘Huge difference’ between Labour and Tories, Starmer declares as he rejects ‘cautious’ criticism
Sir Keir Starmer has rejected claims he is being too cautious and timid in his offer to the public – and insisted there is a “huge difference” between Labour and the Conservatives.
Setting out his stall at the start of a year that is likely to see voters go to the polls, the Labour leader said the “clock is ticking” on the Tories’ time in power and his party is “ready” for a general election whenever it comes.
Politics latest: Sir Keir Starmer makes direct appeal to voters in major speech
In a new year’s speech, he set out his vision for change in politics to disillusioned and disaffected voters.
He told them “things can be better” and promised them a “politics that serves you” – and the chance to “turn the page” on the Tory government.
Sir Keir said “the moment power is taken out of Tory hands and given, not to me, but to you, that moment is getting closer by the second”.
“We don’t just expect an election on the economy,” he said. “We want an election on the economy and we’re ready for that fight.”
On the prospect of tax cuts, Sir Keir said he wanted people to “have more money in their pocket”. But he stressed his priority before that will be getting the economy growing again.
His critics, including within the party, have warned Labour against being “too timid” and “limping into Number 10”.
Asked by Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby whether his pitch to vote Labour is simply to see the back of the Tories, Sir Keir said the “change that we are offering, the difference that we want to make, between 14 years of decline and a decade of national renewal, they are fundamentally different things”.
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Will Starmer turn voters off?
“Underpinning the decade of national renewal, these are not just words. I’ve set out over the last few months five national missions that we will seek to achieve over the period of the next Labour government,” he said.
“They are really ambitious,” he continued, adding there is a “huge, huge difference” between Labour and the Tories.
Asked whether he will be willing to take part in TV debates with Rishi Sunak when the general election is called, Sir Keir said reports he will “duck them” are “nonsense”.
“I’ve been saying bring it on for a very long time, I’m happy to debate anytime,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone can accuse me of ducking scrutiny and debate. As I’ve said many times – just bring it on.”
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‘Starmer quiet on tax cuts’
In his speech at a research centre near Bristol, Sir Keir urged voters to reject “pointless populist gestures” and pledged to crack down on cronyism as he sought to outline the dividing lines between Labour and the Conservatives.
He said: “I don’t see our job as going back to some kind of golden age, I don’t think that’s how working people look at things at all. Government in this country is too centralised and controlling, and, because of that, too disconnected from the communities it needs to serve.”
He accused the Tories of “denigrating the people who serve this country” and said there has been “a total lack of respect” for public sector workers.
Sir Keir promised to “clean up politics” of sleaze, adding: “No more VIP fast lanes, no more kickbacks for colleagues, no more revolving doors between government and the companies they regulate.
“I will restore standards in public life with a total crackdown on cronyism: this ends now.”
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‘May election the worst kept secret in Parliament’
He pointed to his legal career as a record of his anti-sleaze zeal, claiming he helped send both Labour and Tory “expense cheat politicians” to jail in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal, while serving as the director of public prosecutions.
Sir Keir also set out to highlight the differences between the Labour Party under his leadership – and that of his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.
He said it was longer “a party of protest” but a “renewed” Labour with a distinctive target – to “defeat this miserabilist Tory project” and “crush their politics of divide and decline” with a new “Project Hope”.
The Labour leader used the word “hope” 18 times during his speech.
“This isn’t a game. Politics shouldn’t be a hobby or a pastime for people who enjoy the feeling of power. Nor should it be a sermon from on high, a self-regarding lecture, vanity dressed up as virtue,” he said.
“It should be a higher calling, the power of the vote, the hope of change and renewal married to the responsibility of service. That’s what I believe in.”
Looking ahead to the pending election, which could see his party sweep to power, Sir Keir added: “Nobody will be above the law in a Britain I lead.
“But with respect and service, I also promise this: a politics that treads a little lighter on all of our lives.”
Taiwanese lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has called on the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserves, suggesting it could serve as a hedge against global economic uncertainty.
Ko, a legislator at-large in Taiwan’s legislative body, the Legislative Yuan, took to X on Friday to report that he had advocated Bitcoin (BTC) investment by the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9.
In his remarks, Ko cited Bitcoin’s potential to become a hedge amid global economic risks and urged Taiwan to recognize the cryptocurrency alongside gold and foreign exchange reserves to boost its financial resilience.
Ko’s announcement came shortly after the legislator held talks with Samson Mow, who advocates for Bitcoin adoption by states like El Salvador at his BTC tech firm Jan3.
Taiwan is an export-oriented economy
Ko highlighted that Taiwan is an export-driven economy that has experienced significant fluctuations in its national currency, the New Taiwan dollar, amid global inflation and intensifying geopolitical risks.
“We currently have a gold reserve of 423 metric tons, and our foreign exchange reserves amount to $577 billion, including investments in US Treasury bonds,” the lawmaker stated.
In a scenario of more intense currency volatility or potential regional conflicts, Taiwan may “very likely be unable to ensure the security and liquidity,” Ko continued, adding that Bitcoin could be a great addition to Taiwan’s reserves for several reasons.
“Bitcoin has been operating for over 15 years. It has a fixed total supply, is decentralized, and is resistant to censorship. Many countries are focusing on its hedging attributes. At the same time, in intense situations, it may not face the risk of embargo,” he said.
Bitcoin is not the only solution
Referring to many global initiatives considering Bitcoin adoption as a reserve asset, Ko stressed that he’s not advocating for Bitcoin as the “only solution” to rising economic challenges.
Instead, the legislator suggested adding a “small proportion of Bitcoin” into the diversified assets as tools for sovereign asset allocation and risk hedging, and backup capacity of Taiwan’s financial system.
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He previously suggested that Taiwan could allocate a maximum of 5% of its $50 billion reserve to Bitcoin in an X post on May 6.
“When exchange rate risk and regional uncertainty increase, it is time to introduce new tools to construct a more flexible financial strategy framework,” Ko said, adding:
“As former Dean Chen Chong said, Bitcoin is the gun of the digital era. It may also be the gold of the digital era, the silver of the digital era. Or it could be gunpowder. A wise nation will not let weapons be in others’ hands.”
The news comes as Taiwan is emerging as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, with the Financial Supervisory Commission pushing institutional trials of crypto custody services in late 2024.
Mainland China continues to maintain its hostile stance on cryptocurrency after imposing a ban on multiple crypto activities, including mining, in 2021.
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German law enforcement seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen after Bybit’s record-breaking $1.4 billion hack.
The seizure, announced on May 9 by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt’s main prosecutor’s office, involved multiple crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Dash (DASH). The move marks the third-largest crypto confiscation in the BKA’s history.
The authorities also seized eXch’s German server infrastructure with over eight terabytes of data and shut down the platform, the announcement added.
eXch exchanged crypto without AML
In the statement, the BKA described eXch as a “swapping” service that allowed users to exchange various crypto assets without implementing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures.
The platform had operated since 2014 and reportedly facilitated about $1.9 billion in crypto transfers, some of which were believed to be of “criminal origin,” including assets laundered during the Bybit hack.
“Among other things, a portion of the $1.5 billion stolen from the Bybit crypto exchange, which was hacked on Feb. 21, 2025, is said to have been exchanged via eXch,” the authorities wrote.
Multisig, FixedFloat among laundering cases
According to a post by crypto sleuth ZachXBT, eXch was also involved in laundering millions of funds from other crypto thefts and exploits, including Multisig, FixedFloat and the $243 million Genesis creditor theft.
Those were in addition to “countless phishing drainer services over the past few years with refusal to block addresses and freeze orders,” ZachXBT said.
ZachXBT was among the first security analysts to report on eXch’s links to laundering $35 million of crypto assets stolen from Bybit soon after the hack was confirmed.
Related: Hacken CEO sees ‘no shift’ in crypto security as April hacks hit $357M
“Lazarus Group transferred 5K ETH from the Bybit Hack to a new address and began laundering funds via eXch (a centralized mixer) and bridging funds to Bitcoin via Chainflip,” ZachXBT wrote in a Telegram post on Feb. 22.
eXch announced termination of services by May 1
After initially denying involvement in laundering funds from the Bybit hack, eXch eventually announced it would cease operations by May 1 in a Bitcoin Talk post published in mid-April.
“Even though we have been able to operate despite some failed attempts to shut down our infrastructure […], we don’t see any point in operating in a hostile environment where we are the target of SIGINT [Signals Intelligence] simply because some people misinterpret our goals,” it wrote.
Addressing the seizure, senior public prosecutor Benjamin Krause stressed the importance of action against “quick and anonymous opportunities for money laundering for any amount.”
“Crypto swapping is an essential component of the underground economy, used to conceal incriminated funds from illegal activities such as hacking or trading in stolen payment card data, thus making them available to perpetrators,” he said.
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