Election betting scandal deepens as more candidates investigated
The election betting scandal has deepened as a Welsh Conservative is being investigated and a cabinet minister revealed he placed bets on the general election date.
Russell George, a Welsh Conservative member of the Senedd, stepped back from the shadow cabinet after it emerged he was facing a probe by the Gambling Commission over alleged betting on the timing of the vote.
He said he would “cooperate fully” with the investigation, and Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies said all other members of the Welsh Conservative Group had “confirmed that they have not placed any bets”.
Mr George is the third Conservative candidate to be named as part of the commission’s investigation, while two Tory officials, Rishi Sunak’s close protection officer and five other officers are also under investigation.
Scotland Secretary Alister Jack said he put three wagers on the timing of the poll but denied breaking any rules and said he is not under investigation.
Up to 15 Conservative candidates and officials are being investigated by the Gambling Commission, according to BBC Newsnight.
The growing scope of the scandal has led to questions over whether politicians should be banned from betting on politics, as footballers are on football.
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Tories launch own probe into betting scandal
Mr Jack said in April he had put £20 at odds of 5/1 on an election being held between July and September but had no knowledge of when it would be called until the day Mr Sunak announced it on 22 May.
He said he placed two unsuccessful £5 bets in March for a vote to be held in May and June.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said he bet on the election but way before it was announced. Pic: PA
“I am very clear that I have never, on any occasion, broken any Gambling Commission rules,” he said.
“Specifically, I did not place any bets on the date of the general election during May [the period under investigation by the Gambling Commission].
“Furthermore, I am not aware of any family or friends placing bets.
“I want to be absolutely clear I have not breached any gambling rules. I placed two unsuccessful bets on the date of the general election and one successful one.”
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On Tuesday, Labour got involved in the scandal for the first time after the Labour candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, Kevin Craig, was suspended from the party after betting on a Conservative winning the seat.
It is understood Labour will return £100,000 in donations he has made to the party since Sir Keir Starmer took charge.
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Tuesday also saw five more police officers being added to the Gambling Commission’s investigation after the Met Police passed their names over.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride told Sky News: “There is a broader issue here and a broader debate to be had about gambling around politics and politicians’ involvement in that and to try and establish where the line should be drawn.
“And it may be going forward that everybody concludes that it shouldn’t happen at all.
“It may be that it should happen, but just on a certain basis and so on and so forth. But I think that is a debate, longer-term, that we need to be having.”
Craig Williams and Laura Saunders. Pics: PA/Laura Saunders for Bristol North West
Mr Sunak has withdrawn backing for the first two Tory candidates to be investigated after coming under pressure to take a tougher approach on the alleged use of inside information to bet on the timing of the election.
Laura Saunders and Craig Williams will appear as Conservative candidates on ballot papers as it is too late to remove them, but will have to stand as independents.
Two officials under investigation both took a leave of absence last week when their names were revealed. They are Tony Lee, the Tory’s director of campaigns and husband of Ms Saunders, and Nick Mason, the party’s chief data officer – who has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Sunak’s close protection officer was arrested last week over alleged bets on a July election.
A full list of the candidates running for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich is below:
Charlie Caiger, independent
Tony Gould, Reform UK
Mike Hallatt, independent
Brett Mickelburgh, Lib Dems
Dan Pratt, Greens
Patrick Spencer, Conservatives
Hester Peirce, a commissioner of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and head of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, reaffirmed the right to crypto self-custody and privacy in financial transactions.
“I’m a freedom maximalist,” Peirce told The Rollup podcast on Friday, while saying that self-custody of assets is a fundamental human right. She added:
“Why should I have to be forced to go through someone else to hold my assets? It baffles me that in this country, which is so premised on freedom, that would even be an issue — of course, people can hold their own assets.”
Peirce added that online financial privacy should be the standard. “It has become the presumption that if you want to keep your transactions private, you’re doing something wrong, but it should be exactly the opposite presumption,” she said.
The comments came as the Digital Asset Market Structure Clarity Act, a crypto market structure bill that includes provisions for self-custody, anti-money laundering(AML) regulations, and asset taxonomy, is delayed until 2026, according to Senator Tim Scott.
Related: SEC to hold privacy and financial surveillance roundtable in December
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) challenge Bitcoin’s self-custody ethos
Many large Bitcoin (BTC) whales and long-term holders are pivoting from self-custody to ETFs to reap the tax benefits and hassle-free management of owning crypto in an investment vehicle.
“We are witnessing the first decline in self-custodied Bitcoin in 15 years,” Dr. Martin Hiesboeck, the head of research at crypto exchange Uphold, said.
Hiesboeck attributed the shift to the SEC approving in-kind creations and redemptions for crypto ETFs in July, which allowed authorized holders to exchange crypto for ETF shares and vice versa without triggering a taxable event, unlike cash-settled ETFs.
“A move away from the self-custody mantra of ‘not your keys, not your coins’ is another nail in the coffin of the original crypto spirit,” Hiesboeck added.
In February, notable Bitcoin analyst and investor PlanB, the developer of the BTC stock-to-flow model, announced that he transferred his Bitcoin to ETFs to alleviate the “hassle” of private key management.
PlanB’s announcement caused an outcry in the Bitcoin community, as many voiced concerns that handing over custody to a third party clashed with Bitcoin’s core values.
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice
Jeremy Corbyn has declined to say his Your Party co-founder Zarah Sultana is a friend as supporters of the new grouping gather in Liverpool.
Speaking to Sky News on the eve of the conference, Mr Corbyn acknowledged “stresses and strains” in the set-up of the party but said it had become “a lot better in the last few days and weeks and we’re going to get through this weekend”.
The former Labour leader has publicly clashed with Ms Sultana, the MP for Coventry South, over the launch and structure of the new party.
Asked if they were friends, Mr Corbyn said they were “colleagues in parliament, and we obviously communicate and so on”.
The pair appeared at separate events on the eve of the party’s inaugural gathering.
Ms Sultana had previously claimed she was being “sidelined” by a “sexist boys’ club” within the fledgling party.
Mr Corbyn said her comments were an “unfortunate choice of words” but added that he had been more involved in the organisation of the conference than she had.
The co-founders have had a strained relationship since setting up the party. Pic: Your Party
The Islington North MP also said that Your Party was still waiting for Ms Sultana to transfer all of the funds she had raised from supporters.
“Obviously having money up front for a conference is a big help,” he said.
Ms Sultana has insisted she is transferring the donations in stages.
The weekend gathering in Liverpool will see supporters choose between four options for a permanent party name: Your Party, Our Party, Popular Alliance, For the Many.
The preferred choice of Ms Sultana – The Left – did not make the ballot.
Similarly, the Coventry MP had said she favoured a co-leader approach, but members will only be able to pick between single leadership or collective leadership models.
Speaking at her own pre-conference rally, Ms Sultana blamed a “nameless, faceless bureaucrat” for restricting the choices.
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The meeting also risked being disrupted by a series of member expulsions. One of those ejected, Lewis Nielsen, accused a “clique” of trying to “take over”.
Your Party sources said expulsions related to members of the Socialist Workers Party and that holding another national party membership was not allowed.
Ms Sultana blamed a “culture of paranoia at the top” and said she believed the same people who had been briefing against her were now also expelling members.
Mr Corbyn will open the conference on Saturday, while the results of the main decision-making votes will be announced on Sunday.
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