Sir Keir Starmer unveils promises to ‘change Britain’ – but warns it may take 10 years

Published

11 months ago

May 17, 2024

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Sir Keir Starmer has promised to change the country “for the better” if Labour wins the next election – but warned his plan for “national renewal” may take a decade to see through.

The leader was speaking at a major pre-election party event in Essex, setting out the “first steps” of a Labour government before the public heads to the polls later this year.

The pledges are to:

– Deliver economic stability
– Cut NHS waiting lists
– Crack down on anti-social behaviour
– Recruit 6,500 new teachers
– Launch a new border security command
– Set up publicly-owned Great British Energy

Sir Keir said the programme “is going to be hard” to achieve, adding that the public could expect to see the promises materialise within two terms of a Labour government

What are Labour’s pledges for government?

He said: “We can deliver this over five or 10 years, a decade of national renewal”.

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The headline speech came as Labour continues to dominate the polls over the Conservatives, and after a set of local elections that saw them win key battleground seats – including taking the West Midlands mayoralty from their rivals.

But there are still questions over whether Sir Keir himself or his party’s policies will be popular enough with the public to secure victory when the general election is called – making today’s speech, and the “evolution of its traditional pledge card” made famous during Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide win, an important moment in the campaign.

Along with the NHS, crime and education pledges, the leader reiterated his promises to deliver “economic stability” – including a pledge to keep taxes “as low as possible” – and to set up a publicly-owned power company, Great British Energy.

Sir Keir also highlighted his sixth priority for government, which he launched last week – setting up a new Border Security Command with hundreds of new specialist investigators, using counter-terror powers “to smash the criminal boat gangs” behind Channel crossings.

In what is being dubbed “Labour’s doorstep offer to the British people”, a fresh advertising campaign is now being launched as the party ramps up its election offering.

A party spokesman described it as the largest spend since the previous general election that will see the Labour leader appear on ad vans and billboards, alongside his six priorities – though they stressed those pledges would not be the “sum total” of the party’s election offer.

Presenting the “first steps” pledges on a card to the room, Sir Keir said: “So here we are. One card, six steps, in your hand, a plan to change the country.

“This is a message that we can take to every doorstep across the country and make the argument that decline is not inevitable, politics can make a difference.

“Britain will have a better future and you can choose it with Labour. Stop the chaos with Labour. Turn the page with Labour. Return politics to service with Labour.

“And with patience, with determination, with these first steps, we can rebuild our country with Labour.”

Delivery will matter on Starmer’s key pledges

Nick Martin

People and politics correspondent

@NickMartinSKY

The six individual pledges announced today set out Labour’s priorities.

But delivering on them will be key to building trust in politics, which a recent Sky News poll revealed was miserably low.

Sir Keir Starmer described this as the first steps in a “mission”. Big, bold change, he said.

But Labour seem to be making bold promises, while trying not to promise too much.

Sir Keir’s refusal in the Q&A after his speech to put a number on how many extra NHS appointments they could deliver in the first few weeks of a Labour government, for example, goes to the heart of their fear.

The potential problem is that Labour’s pledges are broadly similar to the Conservative ones; migration, economy, health – the usual big election issues.

But voters will want to see clearly how the parties differ.

But the Tories hit out at what they said was Labour’s “16th relaunch”, adding it “won’t amount to a hill of beans”.

Chair of the party Richard Holden said: “Today’s speech was devoid of any plan for Britain.

“Sir Keir Starmer is a serial promise breaker who doesn’t have the courage or conviction to stick to a single a pledge he has ever made.

“His unfunded spending, higher taxes and amnesty for illegal migrants would take Britain back to square one.”

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The SNP’s deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black also claimed the speech was “was full of broken promises and empty slogans”.

She added: “The problem for Sir Keir is that he has u-turned on nearly every policy he has ever promised – so it’s little wonder the public don’t trust a single promise he now makes.”

Politics

Stablecoins are the best way to ensure US dollar dominance — Web3 CEO

Published

2 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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Stablecoins are the best way to ensure US dollar dominance — Web3 CEO

Stablecoins are the single best tool for the United States government to maintain the US dollar’s hegemony in global financial markets, according to LayerZero Labs CEO and founder Bryan Pellegrino.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, the CEO of LayerZero Labs, which created the LayerZero interoperability protocol recently chosen by Wyoming to be the distribution partner for the Wyoming stablecoin, said that the cross-border accessibility of dollar-pegged tokens makes them an obvious choice to drive US dollar demand. Pellegrino added:

“Stablecoins for the US dollar are the single best tool — the last Trojan Horse or vampire attack on every single other currency in the world — whether it is Argentina, whether it is Venezuela, whether it is all of the countries that have massive inflation.”

The CEO said he expects support for stablecoins on both the federal and state levels to grow because of the obvious boost stablecoins give to the US dollar in foreign exchange markets and the financial moat stablecoin-driven demand will create around the US dollar’s global reserve currency status.

Dollar, US Government, Stablecoin — *Stablecoin market overview. Source:* *RWA.XYZ*

US government looks to stablecoins to protect US dollar

Pellegrino cited Tether’s emerging role as one of the largest buyers of US Treasury bills in the world as evidence of the demand for US debt instruments from stablecoin issuers.

Tether recently became the seventh-largest holder of US Treasuries, beating out Canada, Germany, Norway, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia.

Speaking at the White House Crypto Summit on March 7, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would leverage stablecoins to extend US dollar hegemony and indicated this would be a top priority for officials in 2025.

According to a 2023 report from Chainalysis, over 50% of all the digital asset value transferred to countries in the Latin American region, including Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, and Venezuela was denominated in stablecoins.

The low transaction fees, relative stability, and near-instant settlement times for dollar-pegged stablecoins make these real-world tokenized assets ideal for remittances and stores of value for residents in developing countries suffering from high inflation and capital controls.

Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins

Politics

CFPB likely to step back from crypto regulation — Attorney

Published

4 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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CFPB likely to step back from crypto regulation — Attorney

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will likely see a reduced role in crypto regulations as other federal agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and state-level regulators assume a bigger role in crypto policy, according to Ethan Ostroff, partner at the Troutman Pepper Locke law firm.

“I think with the current administration, my sense is, we are highly likely to see a significant pullback by the CFPB in the context of the activity by other regulators,” Ostroff told Cointelegraph in an interview.

State regulators also have the authority under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) to assume some of the regulatory roles of the CFPB, the attorney said but also added that some regulatory functions will continue to fall within the purview of the CFPB as a matter of established law.

Ostroff cited the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) as regulators to keep an eye on as potential leaders of crypto regulations at the state level.

However, the attorney clarified that while the CFPB may see a diminished role during the Trump administration, the agency would not be outright dismantled during the current regime due to “statutorily mandated obligations and requirements” that require acts of Congress to change.

Trump administration targets CFPB in efficiency push

The Trump administration targeted the CFPB as part of a broader push by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash government spending and reduce the federal debt.

Russell Vought, the recently appointed head of the CFPB, announced major funding cuts to the agency and scaled back operations within days of assuming the helm at the CFPB in February 2025.

Bitcoin Regulation, US Government, United States, Donald Trump — *Source:* *Russell Vought*

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Elon Musk for dismantling the CFPB, which the US senator co-founded back in 2007.

Warren characterized Musk as a “bank robber” and claimed that the Trump administration dismantled the CFPB to undo consumer protection rules and have greater control over the financial system.

In a February 12 interview with Mother Jones, the senator stressed that the Executive Branch of government does not have the statutory authority to fully dismantle the CFPB, which can only be done through Congressional approval.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Politics

Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing $2.5 billion in repayments

Published

11 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing .5 billion in repayments

Nearly 400,000 creditors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX risk missing out on $2.5 billion in repayments after failing to begin the mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process.

Roughly 392,000 FTX creditors have failed to complete or at least take the first steps of the mandatory Know Your Customer verification, according to an April 2 court filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

FTX users originally had until March 3 to begin the verification process to collect their claims.

“If a holder of a claim listed on Schedule 1 attached thereto did not commence the KYC submission process with respect to such claim on or prior to March 3, 2025, at 4:00 pm (ET) (the “KYC Commencing Deadline”), 2 such claim shall be disallowed and expunged in its entirety,” the filing states.

Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing $2.5 billion in repayments — *FTX court filing. Source:* *Bloomberglaw.com*

The KYC deadline has been extended to June 1, 2025, giving users another chance to verify their identity and claim eligibility. Those who fail to meet the new deadline may have their claims permanently disqualified.

According to the court documents, claims under $50,000 could account for roughly $655 million in disallowed repayments, while claims over $50,000 could amount to $1.9 billion — bringing the total at-risk funds to more than $2.5 billion.

The next round of FTX creditor repayments is set for May 30, 2025, with over $11 billion expected to be repaid to creditors with claims of over $50,000.

Under FTX’s recovery plan, 98% of creditors are expected to receive at least 118% of their original claim value in cash.

How FTX users can complete KYC

Many FTX users have reported problems with the KYC process.

However, users who were unable to submit their KYC documentation can resubmit their application and restart the verification process, according to an April 5 X post from Sunil, FTX creditor and Customer Ad-Hoc Committee member.

Impacted users should email FTX support (support@ftx.com) to receive a ticket number, then log in to the support portal, create an account, and re-upload the necessary KYC documents.

FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, processed the first round of repayments in February, distributing $1.2 billion to creditors.

The crypto industry is still recovering from the collapse of FTX and more than 130 subsidiaries launched a series of insolvencies that led to the industry’s longest-ever crypto winter, which saw Bitcoin’s (BTC) price bottom out at around $16,000.

While not a “market-moving catalyst” in itself, the beginning of the FTX repayments is a positive sign for the maturation of the crypto industry, which may see a “significant portion” reinvested into cryptocurrencies, Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, told Cointelegraph.