Labour under pressure to fix local services in budget as councils insist there is no more ‘fat to cut’
Folkestone has been drawing in crowds in recent years with regeneration and private developments transforming parts of this port town on the Kent coast.
But many residents will tell you that the fabric of this community is being torn apart. Local services are deteriorating and have been for some time.
Leisure centres have shut down and Kent County Council recently closed most of its 50 youth clubs.
The local library has been closed for two years because it has fallen into disrepair and the local council says it can’t afford to repair it. Instead, a makeshift library has been set up across the road, in what was once a youth centre.
It’s not a unique story. Across the country, local authorities have seen their budgets slashed over the past decade.
Since 2010, central government has cut its grants, forcing local councils to raise more council tax. That hasn’t been enough to make up the shortfall, with total spending power plummeting by 26% over the past decade.
At the same time demand for core services, mainly adult social care, has soared, meaning councils are trying to deliver more for less.
Unsurprisingly, non-critical services have been the first to go.
Residents of Folkestone say they’ve had enough and expect the new Labour government to make good on its promise to fix their local services.
In Folkestone, volunteers are helping keep the town centre tidy because the local council does not have the resources.
Matthew Jones, a local campaigner, said: “Libraries are not just a place where you borrow books. It’s the centre of a community… where people come, people who are not only unemployed but students too, a place where they can actually find somewhere warm and safe to study with people around them who can help them.”
Kent County Council had to make £90m of savings last year and is now looking to make another £85m.
Along with closing down services, the council is selling its headquarters, a listed building it has called home for more than 100 years because it can no longer afford to maintain it.
Peter Oakford, the council’s deputy leader, said there was no more “fat to cut”.
“We feel for the residents… because of the position we are in we are asking people to pay more for less services. Until the government fully fund social care so the council can fund other areas of non-discretionary business that we support residents with, we’re going to be in this same position.”
Peter Oakford, Kent County Council’s deputy leader, says there is no more “fat to cut” from their budget.
Local authorities, along with other unprotected budgets such as courts and prisons, have borne the brunt of cuts since 2010 as central government sought to prioritise funding for the NHS and schools.
The problems have reached breaking point at a number of local authorities and one in four councils in England say they are likely to have to apply for emergency government bailout agreements to stave off bankruptcy in the next two financial years, according to a new survey by the Local Government Association (LGA).
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A separate report by the union Unison found that local authorities are grappling with a £4.3bn black hole in their budgets next year, which will rise to £8.5bn the following year.
The chancellor is under pressure to find extra money for local councils in her budget next week but she is grappling with spending demands across the public sector.
Rachel Reeves maintains that this type of day-to-day spending can only be covered through taxation, but the government has promised it will not raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.
This means the chancellor has a difficult balance to strike.
Politics
Met Police launches investigation into suspended Reform MP Rupert Lowe over ‘verbal threats’
The Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation into suspended Reform MP Rupert Lowe.
It comes after the party revealed they had referred him to police and stripped him of the whip on Friday, alleging he made “verbal threats” against chairman Zia Yousaf – which Mr Lowe denies.
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A spokesperson for the Met told Sky News they have now launched an investigation “into an allegation of a series of verbal threats made by a 67-year-old man”.
They added: “Our original statement referred to alleged threats made in December 2024. We would like to clarify that when this matter was reported to us, it referred to a series of alleged threats made between December 2024 and February 2025.
“Further enquiries are ongoing at this stage.”
In response to the update, Mr Lowe said he was unaware of the specific allegations but denied wrongdoing.
“I have instructed lawyers to represent me in this matter,” he said.
“My lawyers have made contact with the Met Police, and have made them aware of my willingness to co-operate in any necessary investigation.
“My lawyers have not yet received any contact from the police. It is highly unusual for the police to disclose anything to the media at this stage of an investigation.
“I remain unaware of the specific allegations, but in any event, I deny any wrongdoing.
“The allegations are entirely untrue.”
Why was Rupert Lowe suspended?
In a statement on Friday, Reform claimed it had received evidence from staff of “derogatory and discriminating remarks made about women” by Mr Lowe, 67, who was elected to his Great Yarmouth seat last year.
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Reform UK row: Who said what?
The statement also claimed Mr Lowe had “on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence” against Mr Yusuf and “accordingly, this matter is with the police”.
Mr Lowe denied the claims, describing them as “vexatious” and said it was “no surprise” that it had come a day after he raised “reasonable and constructive questions” about Reform leader Nigel Farage.
In an interview with the Daily Mail on Thursday, Mr Lowe had said Reform remains a “protest party led by the Messiah” under the Clacton MP.
Asked whether he thought the former UKIP leader had the potential to become prime minister, as his supporters have suggested, Mr Lowe said: “It’s too early to know whether Nigel will deliver the goods. He can only deliver if he surrounds himself with the right people.”
Read More:
The Reform row: What has happened and what has been said?
He also claimed that he was “barely six months into being an MP” himself and “in the betting to be the next prime minister”.
War of words escalates
Those words could have struck a nerve with Mr Farage after Elon Musk, the Tesla and Space X billionaire who has become one of Donald Trump’s closest allies, suggested the Reform leader “doesn’t have what it takes” and that Mr Lowe should take over.
The pair launched bitter personal attacks on each other in articles for the Sunday Telegraph, with Mr Farage accusing Mr Lowe of falling out with all his fellow Reform MPs due to “outbursts” and “inappropriate” language.
He also quoted Labour minister Mike Kane, who said after a confrontation with Mr Lowe in the Commons that his anger “showed a man not in charge of his own faculties”.
In his article, Mr Lowe repeated his claim there is no credible evidence against him, said he was the victim of a “witch hunt” and the Reform UK leadership was unable even to accept the most mild constructive criticism.
US lawmakers are set for a heated debate on stablecoin regulation, with key industry leaders expected to outline their vision for the future of digital asset oversight.
Charles Cascarilla, co-founder and CEO of stablecoin issuer Paxos, is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee, where he will urge lawmakers to establish “cross-jurisdictional reciprocity” in stablecoin regulations.
In his prepared testimony, Cascarilla flagged concerns about the existing hurdles in the adoption of Paxos’ Global Dollar (USDG) stablecoin due to it being issued via a regulated affiliate in Singapore.
“We fear that products like Paxos’ Global Dollar (USDG) stablecoin, issued by a regulated affiliate in Singapore, will languish while departments and agencies make their determinations,” Cascarilla wrote in his speech.
US must act to prevent regulatory stablecoin arbitrage
Cascarilla recommended US lawmakers strengthen the current “international reciprocity language” to include clearly defined, accelerated timelines for the US Treasury Department to designate overseas jurisdictions for stablecoin regulation.
“This timeframe would force swift action and prevent bureaucratic delays while guaranteeing thorough scrutiny of foreign regulatory regimes,” the executive said.
Cascarilla emphasized that potential delays in applying such action would be a major hurdle in the adoption and distribution of stablecoins like USDG in the US as well as cross-border operations.
“Reciprocity is not about lowering standards — it’s about raising them globally,” Cascarilla said, adding:
“By establishing a framework to recognize jurisdictions with comparable regulatory regimes — covering reserve requirements, AML measures and cybersecurity protocols — the United States can prevent regulatory arbitrage, where issuers exploit lax oversight abroad.”
Paxos stablecoins were deemed non-compliant in the EU
Cascarilla’s remarks come amid some Paxos-issued stablecoins facing compliance issues in the European Union following the enforcement of its crypto regulation framework, Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA).
Since the MiCA framework went into full force in December 2024, multiple crypto asset service providers in the EU — including Crypto.com and Coinbase — have announced the delistings of Paxos stablecoins, including Pax Dollar (PAX) and Pax Gold (PAXG).
While Paxos’ Cascarilla is now calling for the US to take urgent action in forcing a global framework for stablecoin issuers that are regulated outside of the US, some industry CEOs have urged all stablecoin firms to get regulated domestically instead.
In February, Circle co-founder Jeremy Allaire argued that all dollar-based stablecoin issuers should register in the US, citing consumer protection and fair competition in the crypto market. He stated:
“Whether you are an offshore company or based in Hong Kong, if you want to offer your US dollar stablecoin in the US, you should register in the US just like we have to go register everywhere else.”
Issued and regulated in the US, Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin was officially approved as the first MiCA-compliant stablecoin in 2024.
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The X account of Meteora co-founder Ben Chow was reported to have been hacked after it posted a tweet reigniting the controversy around the launch of the Libra (LIBRA), Melania Meme (MELANIA) and Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin tokens that ultimately led to his resignation.
On March 11, Chow’s X account posted an “official statement” about his departure from Meteora. The post called out DefiTuna founders Vlad Pozniakov and Dhirk, claiming the duo’s sole intention was to extract the maximum funds possible from various memecoin token launches, including MELANIA, Mates (MATES) and a Raydium launch.
“As a long time Solana builder, the reason I stepped down is because I am far too trusting for how parasitic the memecoin space is.”
Source: Ben Chow (Deleted post)
The controversial memecoin plot thickens for Meteora
However, Meteora’s official X account flagged the post as fraudulent, claiming that Chow’s X account was compromised and urged users to refrain from clicking on any links.
Chow did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. The fraudulent tweet has since been deleted after the account was recovered by Meteora.
Chow’s message contained alleged screenshots of WhatsApp conversations between Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis, Kelsier Ventures’ chief operating officer Gideon Davis, and Pozniakov discussing the MATES token, where one was quoted saying: “Yeah fellas tbh we are trying to max extract on this one.”
The legitimacy of the conversations could not be verified.
Source: Meteora
Meteora co-founder Zen, who has since taken up the role of CEO, said that Meteora’s X account was also compromised along with Chow’s:
“It’s true that someone gained access momentarily to our Meteora X account. We’ve since reset the account and now verifying.”
Investors were advised against clicking on any links shared from the accounts to avert financial losses.
Related: Milei’s ‘Libragate’ scandal, explained: What’s behind the controversy?
Implications of memecoin speculation in Argentine politics
Argentine President Javier Milei is facing calls for impeachment after endorsing a Solana-native LIBRA token. Milei’s endorsement caused the token’s value to surge from near zero to $5, briefly reaching a $4 billion market capitalization.
However, a massive sell-off event followed that caused LIBRA’s value to drop rapidly, wiping out millions in investor funds in the process.
Milei dismissed rug pull allegations, claiming that he regularly promotes business projects as part of his free-market philosophy. His endorsement of the KIP Protocol, the developers behind LIBRA, was a part of the broader policy.
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