‘Complete non-starter’: Jeremy Corbyn allies snub George Galloway’s plea for political pact with ex-Labour leader

Published

1 year ago

March 8, 2024

admin

George Galloway’s hopes of recruiting Jeremy Corbyn to his party have been dashed after sources close to the former Labour leader dismissed the idea he would join forces with the newly-elected MP for Rochdale.

Upon entering parliament last week following his controversial victory in the Rochdale by-election, Mr Galloway appealed to Mr Corbyn to “launch and lead” a new alliance of socialists and questioned why he had “procrastinated for so long” about his political future.

But sources close to Mr Corbyn – who remains suspended from the parliamentary Labour Party – have told Sky News Mr Galloway and Mr Corbyn working together was “never going to happen”.

A former aide told Sky News: “Galloway wants Jeremy to be the leader of some new great movement, but I don’t think Jeremy would do that. He doesn’t need Galloway’s baggage.”

They added: “George and Jeremy may have spoken at the same rallies during the Iraq war, but they have not ever been close comrades. George Galloway is a lone wolf – it’s how he operates.”

Another source branded the idea Mr Corbyn could join Mr Galloway’s Workers Party as a “complete non-starter”.

“They may agree over Gaza but they have totally different politics. It wouldn’t be in Jeremy’s interests.”

A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn declined to comment. Mr Galloway has been approached for comment.

Mr Galloway, a former Labour MP who was expelled from the party in 2003, won the Rochdale by-election last week on a pro-Gaza platform that earned him a majority of 5,697 votes.

By contrast, Labour – which had previously held the seat under the late Sir Tony Lloyd – came fourth with just 2,402 votes after the party was forced to abandon support for its candidate following an antisemitism row.

Mr Galloway has been strongly critical of Sir Keir Starmer’s position on the conflict, accusing him in his victory speech of “enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza strip”.

He claimed his election was going to “spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates in scores of parliamentary constituencies”.

Shortly before he was sworn in as an MP in the Commons, Mr Galloway urged Mr Corbyn to make a “final total break with Labour” in an interview with the left-leaning YouTube channel Not the Andrew Marr Show.

He admitted he had not spoken with Mr Corbyn in “many years” and said he did not know why “he has procrastinated so long in making a final total break with Labour and leading something himself.”

“If he was here now, I would say to him, ‘You saw what happened [in Rochdale]. Set up, announce an alliance of the remaining socialists in the country. You lead it, I’ll support it, you’ll be the leader, and let’s go. Time is running out.'”

He added: “He must avoid being a wasting asset. He is a very considerable asset and everyone loves him. But he should be careful that he doesn’t waste the remaining opportunity that he has.

“If he won’t, we will run ourselves – we’ll support independence where we don’t run ourselves, and we’ll do that, but we will be weaker because of the absence of Jeremy Corbyn at the head of it.”

Mr Corbyn sits as an independent MP in the Commons after he was suspended from the parliamentary Labour Party over his reaction to a damning report into how antisemitism complaints were handled under his leadership.

Sir Keir has been adamant there is no route back for Mr Corbyn into the parliamentary party and that he will not be able to stand for Labour at the next election – increasing the likelihood he will stand as an independent in his constituency of Islington North, a seat he has held since 1983.

One Labour MP said they believed Mr Galloway had “ulterior motives” in asking Mr Corbyn to join his party – something they said the latter would be “stupid to do”.

“He’s set Corbyn a challenge he know he won’t be able to step up to,” they explained.

“He’s trying to make Jeremy an offer he can’t refuse and if he doesn’t take up that offer, I think Galloway will make out that Corbyn is the problem. Galloway wants to be the big boy of the left, he wants Jeremy’s 2.5m followers on social media.

“He wants to be the kingmaker of the left – but Galloway is for Galloway and nothing else.”

Politics

Grayscale and Osprey end 2-year legal fight over Bitcoin ETF promotion

Published

27 mins ago

April 11, 2025

admin

Grayscale and Osprey end 2-year legal fight over Bitcoin ETF promotion

Asset managers Osprey Funds and Grayscale Investments agreed to settle a lawsuit over alleged violations of Connecticut law in the advertising and promotion of Grayscale’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

According to an April 9 court filing, the parties agreed to settle the two-year-old case and are finalizing documentation and settlement terms. The filing noted that once those steps are completed, Osprey will withdraw its appeal.

“Soon after this appeal was filed, the parties reached a settlement of this case,” the motion stated. “It is expected that all these tasks can be done within 45 days, and it is uncertain whether a shorter extension would suffice.”

Details of the settlement have not been made public.

Grayscale and Osprey reach settlement

The legal battle between the two firms started on Jan. 30, 2023, when Osprey filed a suit in the Connecticut Superior Court. Osprey claimed it was Grayscale’s only competitor in the over-the-counter Bitcoin (BTC) trust market and that Grayscale had maintained its market share through deceit.

Osprey claimed Grayscale promoted its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) as a means to access a spot Bitcoin ETF through a conversion. Osprey argued that the conversion was presented as a certainty, despite regulatory uncertainty at the time.

Grayscale’s application to convert GBTC into a spot ETF was approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2024.

An August 2023 ruling compelled the SEC to reconsider its rejection of Grayscale’s application to convert the fund into an ETF.

The SEC’s approval allowed GBTC to transition into a spot ETF and begin trading on the NYSE Arca exchange.

Lawsuit settlement follows Osprey appeal

On Feb. 7, Judge Mark Gould sided with Grayscale, ruling that Osprey’s claims against the asset manager were exempted from the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Osprey responded by filing a motion for reargument on Feb. 10. The fund claimed that Gould’s ruling came “before the close of discovery,” which is the formal evidence-gathering phase of a lawsuit.

The fund claimed that the ruling overlooked the differences between how the Federal Trade Commission and Connecticut courts treat deceptive advertising.

The settlement ended one of the more prominent legal clashes among crypto asset managers competing for early ETF dominance. Grayscale’s GBTC remains one of the largest Bitcoin investment vehicles in the United States.

Magazine: Illegal arcade disguised as … a fake Bitcoin mine? Soldier scams in China: Asia Express

Politics

Illinois Senate passes crypto bill to fight fraud and rug pulls

Published

50 mins ago

April 11, 2025

admin

Illinois Senate passes crypto bill to fight fraud and rug pulls

The Illinois Senate by a vote of 39 to 17 passed a regulatory bill aimed at curbing cryptocurrency fraud and protecting investors from deceptive practices, including rug pulls and misleading fee structures.

On April 10, the chamber passed Senate Bill 1797 (SB1797), also known as the Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act, which Senator Mark Walker introduced in February.

The bill gives the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation authority to oversee digital asset business activity within the state.

Under the legislation, any entity engaging in digital asset business with Illinois residents must be registered with the state’s financial regulator. The bill also requires crypto service providers to offer advance full disclosure of user fees and charges.

“A person shall not engage in digital asset business activity, or hold itself out as being able to engage in digital asset business activity, with or on behalf of a resident unless the person is registered in this State by the Department under this Article […],” the bill states.

Walker has previously highlighted the need to address crypto-related fraud in Illinois. In an April 4 X post, he stated:

“The rise of digital assets has opened the door for financial opportunity, but also for bankruptcy, fraud and deceptive practices. We must set standards for those who have evolved in the crypto business to ensure they are credible, honest actors.”

Illinois’ push for stronger oversight follows a wave of high-profile memecoin meltdowns and insider-led scams that have left retail investors with substantial losses.

In March, New York introduced Bill A06515, aiming to establish criminal penalties to prevent cryptocurrency fraud and protect investors from rug pulls.

Memecoin scams spark regulatory momentum

One of the most notorious recent cases was the collapse of the Libra token, a memecoin reportedly endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei. In March, the project’s insiders allegedly withdrew over $107 million in liquidity, causing a 94% price crash and wiping out roughly $4 billion in market value.

Insider scams and “outright fraudulent activities” like rug pulls, which are “not only unethical but also clearly illegal, with case law to support enforcement,” should see more thorough regulatory attention, Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum, told Cointelegraph, adding:

“In my view, these activities should fall firmly within the jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies.”

The latest meltdown occurred on March 16, after Hayden Davis, the co-creator of the Official Melania Meme (MELANIA) and the Libra token, launched a Wolf of Wall Street-inspired token (WOLF).

Over 82% of the token’s supply was held by the same entity, which led to a 99% price crash after the token peaked at a $42 million market capitalization.

Argentine lawyer Gregorio Dalbon has asked for an Interpol Red Notice to be issued for Davis, citing a “procedural risk” if Davis were to remain free as he could access vast amounts of money that would allow him to either flee the US or go into hiding.

Magazine: Caitlyn Jenner memecoin ‘mastermind’s’ celebrity price list leaked

Politics

Starmer needs to publicly say Trump is wrong and give more reassurance over tariffs, Harriet Harman urges

Published

3 hours ago

April 11, 2025

admin

Starmer needs to publicly say Trump is wrong and give more reassurance over tariffs, Harriet Harman urges

Sir Keir Starmer needs to reassure the public more over tariffs – and tell them Donald Trump is wrong, Harriet Harman has said.

Speaking to Beth Rigby on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer said ministers were avoiding the “elephant in the room, which is that Trump is wrong on this, we don’t agree with him”.

The US president placed 10% tariffs on all UK goods exported to the US, and while other countries were much worse hit, the FTSE 100 fell by about 1,000 after Mr Trump’s “liberation day” announcement last week.

It then kicked off its best day in five years on Thursday after Mr Trump decided to defer the worst of his tariffs for 90 days. Financial markets around the world reacted similarly.

Baroness Harman said there was no need for “gratuitous insults” but that the prime minister needed to “own the narrative” because there is “a danger” if the leader of the country is not saying what is actually happening.

A minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Baroness Harman said that when the US put steel tariffs on imported steel in 2002, Mr Blair “did say ‘this is unacceptable, this is wrong, it’s unjustified, it is breaching the World Trade Organisation rules'”.

“He was able to say ‘we do not believe this is how you should be within the world organisation and Bush has got it wrong’,” she added

“I think it feels as if there’s a kind of restricted vocabulary amongst ministers at the moment where they are speaking in code.”

The Labour peer said she also thought Sir Keir should be “being more positive and giving reassurance”.

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

She acknowledged there was “a lot of criticism” in the first six months of Labour’s tenure and the government “didn’t help the economy by rather talking it down”.

There is a danger of being “too pessimistic”, she said, and Sir Keir needs to be “realistic”.

“But I think that giving people reassurances – we’re not going to panic, we’re not going to make mistakes by knee-jerk retaliation,” she said.

“I think the story needs to be told to the country that this is a really difficult problem and Trump has caused it and he is wrong to do this, but we will be okay with this government.

“And I think he’s entitled to say that, and I think people will want to hear that.”