Memorable moments from general election campaigns gone by
Since Rishi Sunak called the election, Sky News’ Politics Hub has been looking back over memorable moments from campaigns gone by.
From David Cameron‘s football own goal, to an upstart Nick Clegg emerging as the unlikely victor from the UK’s first televised leaders debate, there were plenty to choose from.
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We’ve collated them all here for you to reminisce on – and a fair warning, given the fine weather we’ve had this week, one might leave you craving some ice cream…
Cameron’s own goal
Nothing says “man of the people” like a good football reference.
But – in an embarrassing slip during the 2015 campaign – David Cameron did little to convince us he was a true fan.
In a speech in which he sought to celebrate Britain’s diversity, he said this was “a country where people of all faiths, all colours, creeds, and backgrounds can live together” – and one where “you can support Man Utd, the Windies, and Team GB all at the same time”.
“Of course, I’d rather you support West Ham,” he quipped.
Alas, he’s an Aston Villa fan.
‘Hell yes, I’m tough enough’
Labour had been tipped to return to power at the 2015 election, but some bruising TV appearances for Ed Miliband didn’t help the party’s chances by the end.
One saw him grilled on Sky News by Jeremy Paxman about whether he was “tough enough” to be prime minister.
Leaning forward, Mr Miliband shared an anecdote about the UK government’s desire to intervene in Syria that year, in line with the US under then president Barack Obama.
He told Paxman how he was “called into a room” to speak to David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, fresh off the phone with Mr Obama, and ultimately decided to vote against taking action.
“Standing up to the leader of the free world shows a certain toughness,” said Mr Miliband.
Defending his record on foreign policy, he concluded his point with the immortal words: “Am I tough enuss… tough enough? Hell yes, I’m tough enough.”
Johnson hides in a fridge
Boris Johnson poses for a photo during the 2019 election campaign. Pic: AP
Indiana Jones infamously hid in a fridge to survive a nuclear explosion, but who knew they were equally effective at protecting yourself from Piers Morgan.
During the election campaign of December 2019, Boris Johnson retreated into an industrial fridge at a milk firm in Yorkshire after being invited to speak on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
Told by a producer from the show that he was live on telly, Mr Johnson said he’d be “with you in a second” before enacting his daring escape.
“He’s gone into the fridge,” Morgan muttered in apparent disbelief, down the line from the ITV studio, as the then prime minister surrounded himself with the comfort of milk bottles.
Mr Johnson did eventually emerge and went on to win the election.
Flakes between friends
Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, clearly the best of pals. Pic: PA
New Labour’s time in power often saw stories about a fractious relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
But the pair put on the truest form of friendship on the 2005 campaign trail: enjoying delectable 99 Flakes together.
Read more:
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The photo op was a rebuttal to reports of a fallout, and nothing brings people together like good ice cream.
And they probably really did cost 99p back then.
‘We’re alright!’
Neil Kinnock delivers an infamous Labour rally in Sheffield. Pic: PA
It’s 1992 – and Labour’s Neil Kinnock is facing John Major.
A week out from the vote, and the opposition thinks it is on track to finally re-enter Downing Street after more than a decade out of power.
Thousands of the party faithful gathered at Sheffield Arena for a huge rally.
Amid rampant cheering and applause, Mr Kinnock bellowed what was reported to be the phrase “we’re alright!”
This was taken to be him signalling Labour would be winning – a sign of complacency and overconfidence.
His party went on to lose to Mr Major’s Tories, and Mr Kinnock resigned as party leader.
He has since argued he was actually saying “well alright” in an attempt to get the crowd to listen to him.
‘Nothing has changed’
Theresa May faced the media after performing a U-turn on her social care reforms. Pic: PA
Theresa May didn’t have a great time during the 2017 campaign.
One moment in particular went down in infamy, as she repeatedly told journalists “nothing has changed” despite a screeching U-turn on controversial plans to get the elderly to pay for their social care.
It was perhaps the nadir of a campaign that had begun with her tipped to inflict a crushing defeat upon Labour, but instead saw her lose her majority.
‘I agree with Nick’
David Cameron and Nick Clegg debate ahead of the 2010 election. Pic: Reuters
The big winner from the UK’s first ever TV prime ministerial debate in 2010 wasn’t primary contenders David Cameron and Gordon Brown, but Nick Clegg.
As the Tory and Labour leaders looked to take chunks out of one another, they saved a more conciliatory side for the insurgent Lib Dem.
He could do no wrong that night, with Messrs Cameron and Brown both finding it completely irresistible not to simply “agree with Nick”.
Cleggmania took him all the way into Number 10 as part of the coalition.
The Ed Stone
Ed Miliband unveils his manifesto pledges in unusual fashion. Pic: PA
Never mind his bacon sandwich eating technique, it was unveiling Labour’s 2015 election pledges inscribed on an enormous slab of limestone that really got voters wondering what Ed Miliband was up to that year.
The then party leader thought the stunt, known as the Ed Stone, would persuade the public he was serious about delivering his promises.
They included “a strong economic foundation” and “controls on immigration” (these sound familiar, no?).
Worse still, Labour even committed to putting it up in the Downing Street garden should they win power.
But it was immediately ridiculed upon its unveiling in Hastings, and the party ended up performing so disappointingly at the election that the now shadow energy secretary resigned as leader.
Bigotgate
Gordon Brown and Gillian Duffy, the voter he called a ‘bigoted woman’. Pic: PA
Nigel Farage has claimed that the furore over Rishi Sunak leaving D-Day commemorations was the prime minister’s “Gillian Duffy moment”.
So fittingly, we looked back at the original.
“Bigotgate” was born after the then prime minister Gordon Brown described one voter – Gillian Duffy – airing concerns about immigration in Rochdale as a “bigoted woman”.
Mr Brown muttered it after an exchange on camera, not realising he was being picked up by a microphone, and the comment was subsequently broadcast.
The Prescott punch
John Prescott (right) and Gordon Brown at Labour’s 2001 manifesto launch in Birmingham. Pic: Reuters
How would you react if someone threw an egg in your face?
In the case of John Prescott, the answer was to punch them.
The former deputy prime minister threw a fist at the voter who targeted him ahead of a campaign rally in Wales.
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The incident came on the day Labour launched its 2001 manifesto, and went down in such infamy it has its own Wikipedia page.
Mr Prescott, then Tony Blair’s deputy, insisted the hefty jab was an act of self-defence – but him choosing violence divided the party leadership, with Gordon Brown more sympathetic than the prime minister was.
The South African Reserve Bank issued its second financial stability report for 2025, identifying digital assets and stablecoins as a new risk as the number of users in the country continues to grow.
In a report released on Tuesday, South Africa’s central bank identified “crypto assets and stablecoins” as a new risk for technology-enabled financial innovation. The bank reported that the number of combined users on the country’s three largest crypto exchanges reached 7.8 million as of July, with about $1.5 billion held in custody at the end of 2024.
“Due to their exclusively digital – and therefore borderless – nature, crypto assets can be used to circumvent the provisions of the Exchange Control Regulations,” said the report, referring to regulations to control the inflows and outflows of funds to South Africa.
In addition to crypto assets like Bitcoin (BTC), XRP (XRP), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL), the central bank said that there had been a “structural shift” in the adoption of stablecoins based on a significant increase in trading volume since 2022:
“Whereas Bitcoin and other popular crypto assets were the main conduit for trading crypto assets until 2022, USD-pegged stablecoins have become the preferred trading pair on South African crypto asset trading platforms […] This is due to the notably lower price volatility of stablecoins compared to unbacked crypto assets.”
Related: South Korea stablecoin framework stalls as regulators split over banks’ role
The Financial Stability Board, a financial watchdog for entities in the G20, reported in October that South Africa had “no framework in place” for regulating global stablecoins, and only “partial regulations in place” for cryptocurrencies. The central bank said that “risks may build up undetected” from crypto, posing a threat to the country’s financial stability until an appropriate regulatory framework is established.
Different story with South Africa’s government on crypto
The central bank’s warning echoed similar sentiments from 2017, when deputy governor Francois Groepe said issuing digital currencies would be too risky for the country.
However, among policymakers in South Africa’s government, the sentiment may be slightly more bullish.
In 2022, the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority designated cryptocurrency as a financial product and subsequently issued licenses for crypto companies to conduct business.
Magazine: Ethereum’s Fusaka fork explained for dummies: What the hell is PeerDAS?
Prediction platform Polymarket has received regulatory approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to operate an intermediated trading platform.
In a Tuesday notice, Polymarket said the CFTC issued an Amended Order of Designation, which will allow the company to “operate an intermediated trading platform subject to the full set of requirements applicable to federally regulated US exchanges.” According to Polymarket, the approval will result in the platform onboarding brokerages and customers directly and facilitating trading on US venues.
“This approval allows us to operate in a way that reflects the maturity and transparency that the US regulatory framework demands,” said Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan.
The regulatory approval came about five months after the CFTC and the US Department of Justice closed an investigation into Polymarket regarding whether the platform accepted trades from US-based users. The FBI reportedly raided Coplan’s home as part of the probe into the prediction platform, seizing his electronic devices.
Related: US regulator moves to drop appeal against Kalshi
The predictions platform is subject to oversight and regulation from the CFTC while operating in the United States. A market structure bill moving its way through Congress could also expand the CFTC’s authority over digital assets.
CFTC leadership in flux
The CFTC notice under acting chair Caroline Pham came as the US Senate is expected to soon vote on the nomination of SEC official Michael Selig as the next chair of the commodities regulator. Lawmakers in the Senate Agriculture Committee voted along party lines to advance Selig’s nomination.
Even if Selig were to be confirmed, the CFTC would continue to have four empty commissioner seats. As of Tuesday, US President Donald Trump had not announced any potential replacements for the regulator’s leadership.
Magazine: Sunny Lu: Getting scammed for 100 Bitcoin led him to create VeChain
Key takeaways:
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The SEC introduced new post-shutdown guidelines that explain how registration statements, including crypto ETF filings, progress through Sections 8(a) and 461 of the Securities Act.
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Generic listing standards approved in September 2025 removed the need for individual 19(b) approvals for qualifying crypto ETPs.
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The government shutdown created a backlog of more than 900 filings, pushing issuers to rely on the automatic 20-day effectiveness mechanism under Section 8(a).
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The new SEC instructions allow issuers to choose between automatic effectiveness or requesting accelerated effectiveness under Rule 461 for faster launches.
After years of slow progress and periodic regulatory pauses, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has released new guidelines that may speed up the approval timeline for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
These updates follow an extended, record-long government shutdown that halted progress on more than 900 pending registration filings across financial markets. As federal operations resumed, the SEC issued technical guidance outlining how issuers can advance ETF applications under Sections 8(a) and 461 of the Securities Act of 1933.
This article explains what changed, why it matters and how the updated procedures could shorten timelines for new crypto ETF launches in the US.
The regulatory freeze: A look back
For most of 2025, ETF issuers, especially those focused on crypto, were already dealing with a heavy procedural load. Following the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and Ether ETFs in May 2024, the filing activity has surged, coming from firms seeking to list products tracking altcoins such as Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), Chainlink (LINK), Dogecoin (DOGE) and others.
The regulatory process for many of these products still required individualized review under Section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This meant issuers depended on the SEC to publish proposed rule changes, open public comment periods and issue approval or denial orders. Timelines varied widely.
Pathway to generic listing standards
On Sep. 17, 2025, the SEC approved generic listing standards for commodity-based trust shares on Nasdaq, the Chicago Board Options Exchange BZX Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange Arca. This changed the regulatory process by removing the need for individual Section 19(b) rule change approvals for every qualifying crypto ETF.
The new standards were announced alongside the approval of the first multi-crypto asset ETF, the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund, which holds Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other coins.
This streamlining removed the years-long bottleneck that had previously stalled products, but the immediate push to launch was halted by the government shutdown.
The shutdown backlog
During the 43-day shutdown, more than 900 filings were submitted but could not be processed. ETF issuers were left with no review mechanisms, no staff communication and no way to advance pending filings.
In this environment of regulatory paralysis, the only path forward for some issuers was to use an existing mechanism: the automatic 20-day effectiveness provision under Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. This allowed registration statements filed without a delay-in-time clause to automatically become effective after 20 days if the SEC did not take action or object. This mechanism was helpful for the launch of several funds, including Canary Capital’s spot XRP ETF.
The crisis and the reliance on a technical workaround highlighted the need for a more efficient and formal review process.
This approach was referenced directly in the SEC guidance published after operations resumed. Once the SEC reopened, staff was instructed to resume work promptly and orderly. Issuers immediately requested clarity on how filings submitted during the shutdown would be sequenced or amended.
What the SEC’s new guidelines actually change
On Nov. 13, 2025, the SEC published a detailed set of technical clarifications explaining how it would process the shutdown-period backlog.
The SEC’s new guidance was applied to issuers such as Bitwise, which had an XRP ETF filing pending but had not yet completed the Section 8(a) process.
The post-shutdown guidance created two primary mechanisms to move stalled applications toward launch.
Automatic 20-day effectiveness
As a remedy for filings submitted during the shutdown, the guidance confirmed that registration statements filed without a deferral would gain automatic effectiveness after 20 days under Section 8(a). The SEC also clarified that staff would not recommend enforcement action even if the filing does not include Rule 430A information.
Request for acceleration via amendment
For issuers who want a faster approval timeline or who want to restore active regulatory oversight, the SEC guidance clarified that it may add an amendment deferral and then formally request acceleration under Rule 461. This allows issuers to move beyond the automatic 20-day countdown and seek accelerated effectiveness. The SEC also noted that the division would review filings in the order in which they were received.
Did you know? The generic listing standards apply only to exchange-traded products (ETPs) that hold an underlying commodity, such as digital assets, that trades on an ISG-member exchange or is subject to a regulated futures market with appropriate surveillance sharing.
What this means for crypto ETF issuers moving forward
The SEC’s guidance does not guarantee faster approval for every crypto ETF. Substantive legal review remains unchanged. What has changed is the friction in the process. The automatic-effectiveness mechanism under Section 8(a) now plays a larger role because filings submitted without a delay clause during the shutdown can become effective after the standard 20-day period unless the SEC intervenes.
Rule 461 allows an issuer to request that the SEC accelerate the effective date of its registration statement to a specific time. To do this, an issuer must first amend its filing to return it to the standard delayed status and then submit a formal Rule 461 request to the SEC. This request is not a mere formality. It serves as confirmation that the issuer, underwriters and advisers are fully aware of, and accept, their legal and antifraud liabilities under the Securities Act.
By combining a Rule 461 acceleration request with the new generic listing standards, which bypass the older Section 19(b) delays, issuers have streamlined the entire process. This combination makes the path for compliant altcoin ETPs quicker and more predictable, allowing managers to target specific launch windows with greater certainty.
Why speed doesn’t mean safety
While the SEC has accelerated the timing of approvals, it has also emphasized that core investor protection rules have not been relaxed.
The primary takeaway for issuers is that fast approval does not reduce their legal responsibility. The SEC’s post-shutdown guidance clarifies that the liability and antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws still apply to all registration statements, including those that become effective automatically under Section 8(a).
This is backed by the core of the Securities Act of 1933: Section 11 and Section 12(a)(2). These rules impose strict liability under Section 11 and a heightened liability standard under Section 12(a)(2) for any material false statements or omissions in the registration documents. In simple terms, if the prospectus is misleading, the issuer is liable, and investors do not have to prove that the company acted carelessly or intentionally.
The burden of ensuring accuracy remains with ETF providers, who must conduct thorough internal checks and due diligence to meet this high standard, especially when timelines are compressed.
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