Nadhim Zahawi: Former chancellor and vaccines minister will stand down at general election
Former COVID vaccines minister and chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has announced he will not be standing at the next general election.
The Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010 quoted his “most famous constituent” as he wrote: “Go to your bosom; knock there and ask your heart what it doth know.”
He said: “The time is right for a new, energetic Conservative to fight for the honour of representing Stratford-on-Avon.”
“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” he added, referencing Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet.
Mr Zahawi is the 65th Conservative MP to announce he will not be standing at the next general election, which is expected this year.
He was responsible for the COVID vaccine roll-out and was chancellor for two months over the summer of 2022. He was also education secretary for 10 months before that.
The MP stood to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative leader but was eliminated from the ballot after the first round of voting and then supported Liz Truss, who made him Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, intergovernmental relations minister and equalities minister.
Mr Zahawi said in his statement: “My mistakes have been mine, and my successes have come from working with, and leading, amazing people.”
He also thanked his family and friends, and especially his wife Lana, for their love.
Nadhim Zahawi was the COVID vaccines minister, responsible for its roll-out
The MP was made Conservative Party chairman by Rishi Sunak but was dismissed for failing to disclose he was being investigated by HMRC and the National Crime Agency over a multi-million pound tax dispute related to the sale of shares in his polling firm YouGov while he was chancellor.
He said he had made a “careless and not deliberate” error after initially saying he had no knowledge of the investigation and had “paid all taxes”.
The 56-year-old was born in Baghdad, Iraq, but his family fled the country under Saddam Hussein to live in London when he was 11-years-old.
He added: “Every morning as I shave my head in the mirror, I have to pinch myself.
“How is it that a boy from Baghdad who came to these shores, fleeing persecution and unable to speak a word of English, was able to do as much as I have?
“For all our challenges, this is the best country on Earth, and it helped me make my British dream come true. It was where I built a Great British business, YouGov, and it was where I raised my wonderful family.”
Mr Zahawi at a Cabinet meeting with Boris Johnson
The MP said he felt “immensely privileged” to have served “my country across government”, as he listed his roles, including being responsible for coordinating the Queen’s funeral.
Mr Zahawi found himself unable to enter the United States to visit his children at university in 2017 after then US President Donald Trump banned travellers from some Muslim majority countries, because he was born in Iraq.
He recently made a surprise appearance in an ITV drama about the Post Office IT scandal, playing himself questioning then Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells in a Commons committee inquiry.
A growing demand for US dollar-tied crypto stablecoins could help push down the interest rate, says US Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran.
The Donald Trump-appointed Miran told the BCVC summit in New York on Friday that the dollar-pegged crypto tokens could be “putting downward pressure” on the neutral rate, or r-star, that doesn’t stimulate or impede the economy.
If the neutral rate drops, then the central bank would also react by dropping its interest rate, he said.
The total current market cap of all stablecoins sits at $310.7 million according to CoinGecko data, and Miran suggested that Fed research found the market could grow to up to $3 trillion in value in the next five years.
“My thesis is that stablecoins are already increasing demand for US Treasury bills and other dollar-denominated liquid assets by purchasers outside the United States and that this demand will continue growing,” Miran said.
“Stablecoins may become a multitrillion-dollar elephant in the room for central bankers.”
Organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, have warned that stablecoins pose a threat to traditional financial assets and services, as they could potentially compete for customers. US banking groups have also urged Congress to tighten oversight of stablecoins with yield, arguing they could attract would-be bank users.
Related: How TradFi banks are advancing new stablecoin models
Regulation to pave the way
During his speech, Miran praised the GENIUS Act for setting out clear guidelines and consumer protections, as he indicated that the regulatory framework will play a key role in spurring broader adoption of stablecoins.
“While I tend to view new regulations skeptically, I’m greatly encouraged by the GENIUS Act. This regulatory apparatus for stablecoins establishes a level of legitimacy and accountability congruent with holding traditional dollar assets,” he said, adding:
“For the purposes of monetary policy, the most important aspect of the GENIUS Act is that it requires U.S.-domiciled issuers to maintain reserves backed on at least a one-to-one basis in safe and liquid US dollar–denominated assets.”
Magazine: Bitcoin’s ‘speed bump’ to $56K? Ripple rejects IPO plans: Hodler’s Digest, Nov. 2 – 8
The crypto market could soon see some much-needed relief after the US Senate reached an agreement on a three-part budget deal to end the government shutdown, Politico reports.
Pending legislation to fund the US government has more than enough support to pass the 60-vote threshold, Politico reported on Sunday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
It was Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s 15th attempt to win Democratic support for a House-approved bill, putting the record 40-day government shutdown within reach of being lifted.
An official vote is still needed to finalize the agreement.
Ongoing uncertainty over when the US government would reopen has been a key factor holding back Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader crypto market from mounting a rebound.
Bitcoin initially rallied to a new high of $126,080 six days into the government shutdown on Oct. 6, but has since fallen over 17% to $104,370, CoinGecko data shows.
Bitcoin’s fall over the past month saw it drop by double-digit percentage points on Oct. 10 after US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China sent shockwaves throughout the markets.
Bitcoin rallied 266% after last government shutdown lifted
The last US government shutdown occurred between late December 2018 and late January the following year in Trump’s first term.
After it ended on Jan. 25, 2019, Bitcoin rose over 265% from $3,550 to $13,000 over the next five months.
Prediction markets back shutdown to end this week
Bettors on prediction market Polymarket are backing that the government shutdown will be lifted on Thursday, with the market showing a 54% chance it will happen between Tuesday and Friday.
Related: Robert Kiyosaki says he’s buying, targets $250K Bitcoin and $27K gold
Those odds were just 27% a day ago.
Odds on competitor platform Kalshi are similar, estimating the government shutdown will end on Friday, 44 days into the shutdown.
It comes as Trump announced on Sunday that most Americans will receive a $2,000 dividend from tariff revenue.
Approximately 85% of adults will be eligible, excluding high-income earners, he said.
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