The general election campaign has begun – as Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer focus on the economy
There may be months to go until the general election, but in both style and substance the long campaign has already begun – with both leaders zoning in on fruitful attack lines and ignoring inconvenient truths.
In his first Sunday morning interview of the year on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Sir Keir Starmer told Wilfred Frost the prime minister should set a date for the vote now and accused him of vainly waiting to clock up two years in Number 10 before calling an election.
A couple of miles across town, in another TV studio, Rishi Sunak seemed unable to make it more than a few minutes without uttering his rival’s name and suggesting questions for his interviewer to put to the Labour leader.
As far as policy is concerned, the crossfire has centred on that traditionally decisive ballot box issue – the economy.
For Labour, a definite pivot is in motion on the party’s 2021 conference pledge to spend £28bn a year on green investment.
The Tories have started vigorously targeting this expensive promise to try to turn it into an example of what they see as Labour profligacy.
Sir Keir said today if Rishi Sunak wanted a fight between “energy independence versus stagnation” then he should “bring it on”.
It’s a fact learned the hard way by many a party leader that the fight you want to have in an election campaign isn’t always the fight you get.
That’s probably why Sir Keir also tried to shift the emphasis from the precise figure to the broader promise of decarbonising electricity by 2030.
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‘I want the election asap’
Many doubt either of these pledges can actually be met.
But for the Opposition, it’s the big-ticket borrowing that risks the votes – so it’s that which is being polished up into a more politically palatable offer.
There’s a similar sense of reality denial around the discussion on tax.
Rishi Sunak gave his clearest indication yet that more tax cuts are on the way in the March budget with a further big offer to voters ahead of the election.
The price of government debt and levels of revenue being brought in by frozen allowances and thresholds mean this is probably feasible in the short term.
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But the picture is more complicated if you look further ahead.
The prime minister says curbing benefit spending and making the state more efficient is the only way to sustainably cut the tax burden.
To start with, economists will point out that more expenditure in this area goes on benefits for households where someone works and on pensions.
But there are broader pressures too.
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Party leaders gear up for election
Given more money is set to go to areas like health, defence and education, overall spending levels for the years after the election look implausibly tight.
So much so that many conclude the long-term fiscal lookahead is quite simply a fiction designed to clear the way for pre-ballot tax giveaways.
Once again, the priority here appears to be votes.
The rest can be dealt with when the election is won – or, indeed, lost.
South Korean authorities are reportedly looking into blocking crypto exchange platforms that may have operated without adhering to the requirements set by the country’s financial regulator.
On March 21, local media Hankyung reported that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission is considering sanctions against crypto exchanges for allegedly operating in the country without reporting as an operator to the appropriate regulators.
South Korean financial authorities require crypto exchanges to report to regulators as virtual asset service providers (VASPs) under the country’s Specified Financial Information Act.
The FIU is investigating a list of exchanges and is conducting consultations with related agencies. The regulator is also considering sanctions, such as blocking access to the exchanges, as they begin to prepare countermeasures.
Exchanges operated without VASP reports
The list of exchanges that have allegedly provided services to South Koreans without the appropriate VASP reports includes BitMEX, KuCoin, CoinW, Bitunix and KCEX. The exchanges reportedly provided marketing and customer support to Korean investors without going through the country’s compliance process.
Under the country’s laws, operators of crypto sales, storage, brokerage and management are required to report to the FIU. If exchanges don’t comply, their business will be considered illegal and subject to criminal penalties and administrative sanctions.
An FIU official said in the report that measures to block access to the exchanges included in the list are being reviewed. The official said the financial regulator is currently consulting with the Korea Communications Standards Commission, the regulator in charge of the internet, on how they can block access to the exchanges.
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South Korean exchanges face scrutiny
Apart from foreign exchanges, South Korean crypto exchanges are also facing scrutiny over suspicions and rumors of financial misconduct.
On March 20, prosecutors raided Bithumb following suspicions that its former CEO, Kim Dae-sik, embezzled company funds to purchase an apartment. The authorities suspect that the exchange and its executive may have violated some financial laws during the apartment purchase. However, Bithumb responded that Kim had already taken a loan to repay the funds.
In addition, rumors of intermediaries getting paid to list projects on Bithumb and Upbit surfaced. Citing anonymous sources, Wu Blockchain said projects claimed to have paid intermediaries millions to get listed on the exchanges.
Upbit responded, demanding the media outlet to disclose the list of digital asset projects that paid brokerage fees.
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Australia’s government, under its ruling center-left Labor Party, has proposed a new crypto framework regulating exchanges under existing financial services laws and has promised to tackle debanking.
It comes ahead of a federal election slated to be held on or before May 17, which current polling shows is shaping up to a dead heat between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor and the opposing Coalition led by Peter Dutton.
The Treasury Department said in a March 21 statement that crypto exchanges, custody services and some brokerage firms that trade or store crypto will come under the new laws.
The regime imposes similar compliance requirements as other financial services in the country, such as following rules safeguarding customer assets, obtaining an Australian Financial Services Licence and meeting minimum capital requirements.
Australia’s Treasury says its new crypto regulations have four priorities. Source: Australian Department of the Treasury
In August 2022, the government initiated a series of industry consultations to draft a crypto regulatory framework.
“Our legislative reforms will extend existing financial services laws to key digital asset platforms, but not to all of the digital asset ecosystem,” the Treasury said in its statement.
Small-scale and startup platforms that don’t meet specific size thresholds will be exempt, along with firms that develop blockchain-related software or create digital assets that aren’t financial products.
Payment stablecoins will be treated as a type of stored-value facility under the Government’s Payments Licensing Reforms; however, some stablecoins and wrapped tokens will be exempt.
“Dealing or secondary market trading in these products will be not treated as a dealing activity, and platforms where they are traded will not be treated as operating a market simply because of that trading activity,” the Treasury said.
As part of its crypto agenda, Albanese’s government has also promised to work with Australia’s four largest banks to better understand the extent and nature of de-banking.
There will also be a review into a central bank digital currency and an Enhanced Regulatory Sandbox in 2025, allowing businesses to test new financial products without needing a license.
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Albanese’s government intends to release a draft of the legislation for public consultation. However, a change of government could be on the horizon with a looming federal election, a date for which is yet to be called.
Dutton’s center-right Coalition had earlier promised to prioritize crypto regulation if it wins the election.
The latest YouGov poll published on March 20 shows the Coalition and Labor neck in neck for a two-party preferred vote.
The Coalition leads for topline voting intention, while Albanese continues to lead as preferred prime minister. Source: YouGov
Caroline Bowler, the CEO of local crypto exchange BTC Markets, said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph that the areas of reform are sensible and would keep Australia competitive with global peers.
However, she thinks there “will be additional detail required on capital adequacy and custody requirements.”
“We need to ensure that these requirements aren’t overly burdensome for business investment in Australia,” Bowler said.
Kraken Australia’s managing director, Jonathon Miller, said there is an “urgent need for bespoke crypto legislation” to address the existing confusion and uncertainty in the country’s industry.
“We believe that by establishing a clear crypto regulatory framework and mitigating problems like debanking, government can remove the barriers hampering growth in the Australian economy,” he said.
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