Lib Dem leader Ed Davey refuses six times to say whether coalition-era austerity was a mistake
Sir Ed Davey has refused six times to say whether austerity was a mistake in an interview with Sky News.
The Liberal Democrat leader also specifically denied that the austerity policies his party implemented alongside the Conservatives were to blame for the current crisis facing the NHS – which he is promising to “save” if his party wins power on 4 July.
In an interview with Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates, he said the “real, big problems” facing the health service began under the Conservatives in 2015, when the coalition between David Cameron and Nick Clegg came to an end.
But challenged on whether the reorganisation of the NHS that happened on his watch was to blame for the current crisis facing the health service, Sir Ed said: “I think the Conservatives have been in power for last nine years and they failed.”
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The Lib Dems, led by Nick Clegg, entered into a coalition with David Cameron’s Conservatives in the 2010 election until the latter secured a slim majority in the subsequent 2015 election.
During that time, the coalition implemented austerity policies that slashed public expenditure following the 2008 financial crisis, with the NHS one of a number of services hit.
Analysis: Why Lib Dems’ manifesto is far less ambitious than previous one
Ed Davey on a ride at Thorpe Park during the general election campaign. Pic: Reuters
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A King’s Fund report in April found the health service had “declined since 2010, as a result of much lower funding increases, limited funds for capital investment and neglect of workforce planning”.
A number of Lib Dem politicians – including former business secretary Sir Vince Cable and former leader Jo Swinson – have expressed regret for austerity and conceded that it may have cost them votes in the 2015 election, when the party was reduced to just eight MPs.
In her conference speech in 2018, Ms Swinson – who was a junior minister in the coalition government – told Lib Dem members: “Negotiating with the Conservatives meant compromise and some of those compromises sucked. We should have done more.”
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What is in the Lib Dem manifesto?
Manifesto to ‘save’ the NHS
Sir Ed has put the pledge to “save” the NHS and fix social care at the heart of his election manifesto, which was published today.
The party leader said the Liberal Democrats would spend £9bn fixing the health and social care system, including plans to recruit 8,000 more GPs, the right to see a GP within seven days, and a boost cancer survival rates.
He said it was “a manifesto to save the NHS”.
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Davey ‘touched’ by care messages
But asked by Coates whether such promises to fix the NHS and social care were needed only to repair issues caused by the coalition, Sir Ed argued his party pushed for measures on care for the elderly and disabled people when in office, but the Tories “broke their promises”.
“When the Tories were by themselves, they took an absolute axe to some of the poorest people in our country, and that was absolutely shocking,” he said.
“And I am really proud that we managed to stop them for so long.”
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Pushed again over his refusal to say if he endorsed the decisions made by the coalition, the Lib Dem leader replied: “Well, I’m telling you Sam, I fought Conservatives every day and in this election I’ve made it clear there is no way we will allow the Conservatives back into office.
“They are out of ideas and excuses and need to be out of office. Every vote for a Liberal Democrat will be a vote for a great champion to put forward those policies to rescue our NHS and to get the Conservatives out of government.”
As well as the NHS, social care has also been placed front and centre of Sir Ed’s pitch to voters.
The Liberal Democrat leader has spoken candidly of his experience caring for his disabled son and, as a child, looking after his terminally ill mother.
He said his manifesto is the first in the party’s history to include a dedicated chapter on care, with pledges including free personal care for the elderly and the disabled and a higher salary for care workers, set £2 above the minimum wage.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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