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Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer took turns answering questions from Sky News and a live audience, with a snap poll suggesting the Labour leader performed better on the night.

But what did we learn from their responses about the key issues facing the country?

Here’s a look at the key points from the Sky News leaders’ event in Grimsby.

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Sir Keir Starmer leaders' debate
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The Sky News leaders’ event was held in Grimsby

NHS waiting lists

With the NHS England waiting list up to about 7.5 million cases, there was some angry shouting from the audience when Mr Sunak brought up the industrial action taken up by staff in the health service.

“We’ve not made as much progress on cutting waiting lists as I would have liked,” he said.

“That was something that I was keen to do, and it has proved more difficult for a number of reasons, obviously recovering from a pandemic is not easy.”

He faced groans and boos when he said: “I think everyone knows the impact the industrial action has had, that’s why we haven’t made as much [progress].”

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Sunak booed as he arrives at Sky News event

Sir Keir said the government could not afford to meet junior doctors’ pay-rise demands but said Labour would “get the room and settle this dispute”.

Tory tax burden

Mr Sunak repeated his promise of “tax cuts for people at every stage for people at every stage of their life”.

Facing questions about the tax burden potentially being higher than it is now under a future Conservative government, Mr Sunak said: “What our manifesto announced is the tax cuts for people at every stage of their life – for people in work, for people that are setting up small businesses, that are self-employed, for those young people who want to buy their first home, for pensioners and for families.”

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Did Sunak’s claims add up?

D-Day fallout

“It hasn’t been an easy 18 months in general,” Mr Sunak admitted, when asked about what has gone so wrong for his party.

“I’m going to keep fighting hard until last day of this election,” he said.

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Sunak ‘deeply sad’ over D-Day

But Mr Sunak’s decision to leave D-Day commemorations early sparked widespread backlash against the prime minister.

“I was incredibly sad to have caused people hurt and upset,” he said, adding he hopes people can forgive him.

National service

When an audience member asked why a young person today would believe the Tories have their best interests at heart, Mr Sunak said he is “incredibly excited” for his daughters to do national service.

“I think it will be transformative for our country,” he added.

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Sunak on ‘transformative’ national service

Tough questions for Starmer on tax

Addressing his tax plans, Sir Keir insisted “working people shouldn’t pay more tax” and repeated “no tax rises for working people”.

This includes income tax, VAT and National Insurance, but rises in fuel duty, for example, would impact working people, Rigby pointed out.

That has not been explicitly ruled out.

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To help balance the scales, increasing capital gains tax could raise £14bn a year, Rigby said, but Sir Keir revealed “that is not in our manifesto”.

He said he’d be happy to pay more tax himself, despite being in the top 3% for amount of tax paid – after earning £128,000 and paying £44,000 in income tax last year.

“Yes, of course,” he said, reminding the audience his father was a toolmaker – with the often-repeated line causing some laughter in the audience – and his family “couldn’t make ends meet”.

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Starmer accused of being a ‘political robot’

VAT on private schools

Challenged on his plans for a VAT tax on private school education, Sir Keir told an audience member the party is removing a tax break – rather than adding a new tax.

“The position at the moment is there’s a tax break, so you pay VAT on other services, but you don’t pay for private schools,” he said.

“Now I understand why that’s been in place, but it’s a tax break that we are removing. It’s not an introduction of a new tax.”

Two-child benefit cap

Sir Keir confirmed there is no plan in his party’s manifesto to cut a two-child benefit cap, admitting it was a “difficult” decision.

“I can’t do something – I know the benefits of it and we will have a strategy for it – but I think people are fed up of politicians who before the election say we’ll do everything,” he said.

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Starmer challenged on ‘trust’

Small boat crossings and immigration

On small boats, Rigby confronted Mr Sunak about small boat crossings. More than 10,000 migrants have arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel in small boats in 2024 – a new record for this stage in the year.

Part of the Tory strategy to cut the number of crossings is the controversial Rwanda policy, which Mr Sunak again vowed would take off in July if he wins the election.

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Sunak: Immigration ‘too high’

Asked why, if he is so confident flights would take off in July, he didn’t prove this before calling an election, Mr Sunak said “it was the right moment” to go to the polls.

Meanwhile, Rigby outlined how net migration in the past three years stands at 1.9 million people – against 836,000 before Brexit.

With the figure more than doubling since leaving the European Union, Mr Sunak admitted “it’s too high”.

“I’m sure people feel frustrated about that,” he said. “The numbers are too high.”

Starmer distances from Corbyn

Questioned on trust, Sir Keir defended changing previous stances he held, including Labour policies.

He said the “country comes first, party second” and looked back at previous decisions to ask himself if they’re best for the nation, rather than Labour.

Reminded on his claim in the last election that Jeremy Corbyn would make a “great prime minister”, the Labour leader refused to answer directly if he believed that.

Instead, he repeated he was “certain” the party would lose the election in 2019.

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‘I was certain we would lose’

What we didn’t know about the leaders

Asked what he fears most about becoming prime minister, the Labour leader said he’s worried about the impact it will have on his family, including his children aged 16 and 13.

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‘The only fear I have is for my family’

Rigby asked Mr Sunak to tell the audience one thing they might not know about him.

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Sunak reveals ‘appalling diet’

He said he had an “appalling diet” due to his sweet tooth. Haribo and Twix are apparently his favourites.

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Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

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Bitcoin treasury firms driving 0T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

Bitcoin treasury firms driving 0T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

Investment firms with Bitcoin-focused treasuries are front-running global Bitcoin adoption, which may see the world’s first cryptocurrency soar to a $200 trillion market capitalization in the coming decade.

Institutions and governments worldwide are starting to recognize the unique monetary properties of Bitcoin (BTC), according to Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream and the inventor of Hashcash.

“$MSTR and other treasury companies are an arbitrage of the dislocation between the bitcoin future and todays fiat world,” Back wrote in an April 26 X post.

“A sustainable and scalable $100-$200 trillion trade front-running hyperbitcoinization. scalable enough for most big listed companies to move to btc treasury,” he added.

Hyperbitcoinization refers to the theoretical future where Bitcoin soars to become the largest global currency, replacing fiat money due to its inflationary economics and growing distrust in the legacy financial system.

Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back
Source: Adam Back

Related: Crypto sentiment recovers, but weekend liquidity risks remain

Bitcoin’s price outpacing fiat money inflation remains the main driver of global hyperbitcoinization, Back said, adding:

“Some people think treasury strategy is a temporary glitch. i’m saying no it’s a logical and sustainable arbitrage. but not for ever, the driver is bitcoin price going up over 4 year periods faster than interest and inflation.”

Back’s comments come nearly two months after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a national Bitcoin reserve from BTC forfeited in government criminal cases.

Related: Serbia’s Prince Filip says Bitcoin is being stifled, expects huge rally

Global firms continue Bitcoin accumulation

Continued Bitcoin investments from the likes of Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, may inspire more global firms to follow suit.

Strategy’s approach is proving to be lucrative, with the firm’s Bitcoin treasury generating over $5.1 billion worth of profit since the beginning of 2025, according to Strategy’s co-founder, Michael Saylor.

Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back
Source: Michael Saylor

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet, also known as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,”  adopted a similar strategy, since surpassing 5,000 BTC in total holdings on April 24, Cointelegraph reported.

As Asia’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, Metaplanet plans to acquire 21,000 BTC by 2026.

US financial institutions may also have more confidence in adopting Bitcoin after the US Federal Reserve withdrew its 2022 guidance discouraging banks from engaging with cryptocurrency. “Banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin,” Saylor said in response to the guidance withdrawal.

“Banks will now be supervised through normal processes, signaling a more open regulatory environment for digital asset integration,” Nexo dispatch analyst Iliya Kalchev told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

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US crypto rules like ‘floor is lava’ game without lights — Hester Peirce

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<div>US crypto rules like 'floor is lava' game without lights — Hester Peirce</div>

<div>US crypto rules like 'floor is lava' game without lights — Hester Peirce</div>

SEC Commissioner and head of the crypto task force, Hester Peirce, says US financial firms are navigating crypto in a way that’s similar to playing the children’s game “the floor is lava,” but in the dark.

“It is time that we find a way to end this game. We need to turn on the lights and build some walkways over the lava pit,” Peirce said at the SEC “Know Your Custodian” roundtable event on April 25.

The lava is crypto, says Peirce

Peirce explained that SEC registrants are forced to approach crypto-related activities like “the floor is lava,” where the aim is to jump from one piece of furniture to the next without touching the ground, except here, touching crypto directly is the lava.

“A D.C. version of this game is our regulatory approach to crypto assets, and crypto asset custody in particular,” she said.

Peirce said that, much like in the game, firms wanting to engage with crypto must avoid directly holding it due to unclear regulatory rules. “To engage in crypto-related activities, SEC-registrants have had to hop from one poorly illuminated regulatory space to the next, all while ensuring that they never touch any crypto asset,” Peirce said.

Cryptocurrencies, SEC, United States
Source: US Securities and Exchange Commission

Peirce said that investment advisers are often unsure which crypto assets qualify as securities, what entities count as qualified custodians, and whether “exercising staking or voting rights” could trigger custody violations.

“The twist in the regulatory version is that it is largely played in the dark: burning legal lava and no lamps to illuminate the way.”

Peirce also said that a broker or ATS that cannot custody or manage crypto assets will struggle to facilitate trading, making it unlikely for a “robust market” to develop.

Echoing a similar sentiment, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda said at the event that as more SEC registrants work with crypto assets, it’s essential that they have access to custodial options that meet legal and regulatory requirements.

Uyeda said the agency should consider letting advisers use “state-chartered limited-purpose trust companies” with the authority to hold crypto assets as qualified custodians.

Related: Blockchain needs regulation, scalability to close AI hiring gap

Meanwhile, the recently sworn-in chair of the SEC, Paul Atkins, said that he expected “huge benefits” from blockchain technology through efficiency, risk mitigation, transparency, and cutting costs.

He reiterated that among his goals at the SEC would be to facilitate “clear regulatory rules of the road” for digital assets, hinting that the agency under former chair Gary Gensler had contributed to market and regulatory uncertainty.

“I look forward to engaging with market participants and working with colleagues in President Trump’s administration and Congress to establish a rational fit-for-purpose framework for crypto assets,” said Atkins.

Magazine: Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF’s mysterious prison move: Hodler’s Digest, April 19 – 25

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Labour and Reform in battle for Runcorn by-election seat – but disillusionment could be eventual winner

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Labour and Reform in battle for Runcorn by-election seat - but disillusionment could be eventual winner

On the banks of the Mersey, Runcorn and Helsby is a more complicated political picture than the apparent Labour heartland that first presents itself.

Yes, there are industrial and manufacturing areas – an old town that’s fallen victim to out-of-town shopping, and an out-of-town shopping centre that’s fallen victim to Amazon.

But there are also more middle-class new town developments, as well as Tory-facing rural swathes.

Space Café director Marie Moss says a sense of community has faded
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Space Cafe director Marie Moss says a sense of community has faded

One thing this area does mirror with many across the country, though, is a fed-up electorate with little confidence that politics can work for them.

In the Space Cafe in Runcorn Old Town, its director Marie Moss says many in the region remember a time when a sense of community was more acute.

“People were very proud of their town… and that’s why people get upset and emotional as they remember that,” she says.

It’s this feeling of disenfranchisement and nostalgia-tinged yearning for the past that Reform UK is trading off in its targeting of traditional Labour voters here.

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Party leader Nigel Farage features heavily on leaflets in these parts, alongside spikey messaging around migration, law and order, and Labour’s record in government so far.

Runcorn 2024 result
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Runcorn 2024 result

Taxi driver Mike Holland hears frequent worries about that record from those riding in the back of his cab.

A Labour voter for decades, he says locals were “made up” at last year’s election result but have been “astonished” since then, with benefit changes a common topic of concern.

“Getting a taxi is two things, it’s either a luxury or a necessity… the necessity people are the disabled people… and a lot of the old dears are so stressed and worried about their disability allowance and whether they are going to get it or not get it,” he says.

But will that mean straight switchers to Reform UK?

Taxi driver Mike Holland has voted for Labour for decades, but is looking at the Liberal Democrats and Greens, or may not vote
Image:
Taxi driver Mike Holland has voted for Labour for decades, but is now looking at the Lib Dems and Greens – or may not vote at all

Mike says he agrees with some of what the party is offering but thinks a lot of people are put off by Mr Farage.

He’s now looking at the Liberal Democrats and Greens, both of whom have put up local politicians as candidates.

Or, Mike says, he may just not vote at all.

It’s in places like Runcorn town that some of the political contradictions within Reform UK reveal themselves more clearly.

Many here say they were brought up being told to never vote Tory.

And yet, Reform, chasing their support, has chosen a former Conservative councillor as its candidate.

It’s no surprise Labour has been trialling attack lines in this campaign, painting Mr Farage’s party as “failed Tories”.

As a response to this, look no further than Reform’s recent nod to the left on industrialisation and public ownership.

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

Read more:
Tough test for Labour after MP quits
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Local elections could re-shape politics

But head 15 minutes south from Runcorn docks, and this by-election campaign changes.

Rural areas like Frodsham and Helsby have, in the past, tended towards the Tories.

The Conservatives, of course, have a candidate in this vote, one who stood in a neighbouring constituency last year.

But Reform is now making a hard play for their supporters in these parts, with a softer message compared to the one being put out in urban areas – an attempt to reassure those anxious about too much political revolution coming to their privet-lined streets.

Labour, meanwhile, is actively trying to mobilise the anti-Farage vote by presenting their candidate – another local councillor – as the only person who can stop Reform.

Nadine Tan is concerned about division and anger in the community
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Makeup artist Nadine Tan is concerned about division and anger in the community

The pitch here is aimed at voters like Frodsham makeup artist Nadine Tan, who are worried about division and anger in the community.

“I think they need to kind of come together and stop trying to divide everyone,” she says.

But like Mike the taxi driver five miles north, disillusionment could be the eventual winner as Nadine says, despite the “thousands of leaflets” through her door, she still thinks “they all say the same thing”.

One factor that doesn’t seem to be swinging too many votes, though, is the insalubrious circumstances in which the area’s former Labour MP left office.

Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury walks outside Chester Magistrates Court.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Labour MP Mike Amesbury was convicted of punching a man in the street. Pic: Reuters

Mike Amesbury stepped down after being convicted of repeatedly punching a constituent in a late-night brawl outside a pub.

But across the patch, many praise their ex-MP’s local efforts, while also saying he was “very silly” to have acted in the way he did.

That may be putting it mildly.

But it’s hard to find much more agreement ahead of Thursday’s vote.

A constituency still hungry for change, but unsure as to who can deliver it.

Full list of candidates, Runcorn and Helsby by-election:

Catherine Anne Blaiklock – English Democrats
Dan Clarke – Liberal Party
Chris Copeman – Green Party
Paul Duffy – Liberal Democrats
Peter Ford – Workers Party
Howling Laud Hope – Monster Raving Loony Party
Sean Houlston – Conservatives
Jason Philip Hughes – Volt UK
Alan McKie – Independent
Graham Harry Moore – English Constitution Party
Paul Andrew Murphy – Social Democratic Party
Sarah Pochin – Reform UK
Karen Shore – Labour
John Stevens – Rejoin EU
Michael Williams – Independent

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