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Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd has said he has an “aggressive and untreatable” form of leukaemia.

The veteran politician, 73, who has represented Greater Manchester for over 40 years, said he had been receiving treatment for blood cancer, but the illness had progressed.

He said he would be leaving hospital on Thursday in order to “spend the time I have left with my family”.

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In his statement, the MP for Rochdale asked for privacy for him and his loved ones, but sought to reassure his constituents his office would remain open to support them.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was “deeply saddened” by the update, and Sir Tony was “admired and respected throughout the Labour Party”.

He added: “We are indebted to him for his lifetime of service. Our thoughts are with him and his family at this time.”

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Sir Tony first entered parliament in 1983 and has held a range of seats in the region – beginning in Stretford before moving to Manchester Central and finally Rochdale.

He took a five-year break from Westminster to serve as Greater Manchester’s police and crime commissioner, but was beaten to the post of mayor by Andy Burnham in 2016.

As an MP, he served as a foreign minister in the early years of Tony Blair’s government, and later became the chair of the parliamentary Labour Party.

While on the opposition benches, he held a huge range of roles, but most recently served as shadow Scotland secretary, before having to resign to recover from COVID.

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RWAs build mirrors where they need building blocks

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RWAs build mirrors where they need building blocks

RWAs build mirrors where they need building blocks

Most RWAs remain isolated and underutilized instead of composable, DeFi-ready building blocks. It’s time to change that.

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Collapsed crypto firm Ziglu faces $2.7M deficit amid special administration

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Collapsed crypto firm Ziglu faces .7M deficit amid special administration

Collapsed crypto firm Ziglu faces .7M deficit amid special administration

Thousands of savers face potential losses after a $2.7 million shortfall was discovered at Ziglu, a British crypto fintech that entered special administration.

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Heidi Alexander says ‘fairness’ will be government’s ‘guiding principle’ when it comes to taxes at next budget

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Heidi Alexander says 'fairness' will be government's 'guiding principle' when it comes to taxes at next budget

Another hint that tax rises are coming in this autumn’s budget has been given by a senior minister.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was asked if Sir Keir Starmer and the rest of the cabinet had discussed hiking taxes in the wake of the government’s failed welfare reforms, which were shot down by their own MPs.

Trevor Phillips asked specifically if tax rises were discussed among the cabinet last week – including on an away day on Friday.

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Tax increases were not discussed “directly”, Ms Alexander said, but ministers were “cognisant” of the challenges facing them.

Asked what this means, Ms Alexander added: “I think your viewers would be surprised if we didn’t recognise that at the budget, the chancellor will need to look at the OBR forecast that is given to her and will make decisions in line with the fiscal rules that she has set out.

“We made a commitment in our manifesto not to be putting up taxes on people on modest incomes, working people. We have stuck to that.”

Ms Alexander said she wouldn’t comment directly on taxes and the budget at this point, adding: “So, the chancellor will set her budget. I’m not going to sit in a TV studio today and speculate on what the contents of that budget might be.

“When it comes to taxation, fairness is going to be our guiding principle.”

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Afterwards, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told Phillips: “That sounds to me like a barely disguised reference to tax rises coming in the autumn.”

He then went on to repeat the Conservative attack lines that Labour are “crashing the economy”.

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Chris Philp also criticsed the government’s migration deal with France

Mr Philp then attacked the prime minister as “weak” for being unable to get his welfare reforms through the Commons.

Discussions about potential tax rises have come to the fore after the government had to gut its welfare reforms.

Sir Keir had wanted to change Personal Independence Payments (PIP), but a large Labour rebellion forced him to axe the changes.

With the savings from these proposed changes – around £5bn – already worked into the government’s sums, they will now need to find the money somewhere else.

The general belief is that this will take the form of tax rises, rather than spending cuts, with more money needed for military spending commitments, as well as other areas of priority for the government, such as the NHS.

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