Will Sir Keir Starmer win his battle against Nimbys to deliver the growth Britain needs?

Published

4 months ago

January 28, 2025

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Over the last week, Sir Keir Starmer’s government has fired the starting gun on the biggest domestic fight of this parliament on his highest priority issue.

Yet it’s a battle this government is far from certain to win, and the manner in which they’ve entered combat makes ultimate success less likely.

The outcome matters to every citizen in the country but we won’t find out who has won for perhaps a year, maybe longer – such is the complexity of what’s involved to reach ministers’ stated destination.

And given this debate matters to every single viewer, we at Sky News are going to follow every twist and turn each step of the way and explain what is going on – and who is winning.

The promise, from the prime minister, is that he and his government will be “taking on the Nimbys and a broken system that has slowed down our progress as a nation”.

In other words, the PM is promising to smash up the current system of checks and permissions for new development and infrastructure and instead change the rules to build, build, build – at a pace and on a scale that has not been seen in recent decades.

Housing, road schemes, power stations, rail lines, infrastructure of all sorts, shapes and sizes should – if Sir Keir and his Chancellor Rachel Reeves are right – create a permanent legacy to future generations that this government leaves behind all over the UK.

As Donald Trump promises his citizens a “great beautiful golden age”, it suddenly feels from articles and speeches by government ministers as if those at the top of His Majesty’s government are reading from the same script.

On Wednesday, Ms Reeves becomes the face of this revolution as she promises she will unblock the tangled web that ministers think holds back building, development and growth.

Her speech will draw together several of the announcements from the last week, signal the government’s willingness to look favourably at any fresh application for a third runway from Heathrow and suggest there are no alternatives to the multi-lane concrete path she has chosen.

After a bumpy few months, this is an agenda she is proud to be seen to own.

But this is more than about one minister or one change, and the rhetoric eye-wateringly hard to deliver.

Sir Keir has promised that “before long, you will see the difference, as new roads and railways get you to work more quickly and safely”.

Writing in the last few days, he continued: “New wind farms and nuclear plants bring down your bills and create good, well-paid jobs. New houses and towns mean affordable housing for you and your children. New grids and warehouses make running a business more profitable.”

The example of Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, whose controversial yet popular revolution in the Tees Valley saw him re-elected for a third term last year, suggests there are votes if this agenda is delivered.

We have heard this before, but governments have been unable to deliver on exactly this.

Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, then Rishi Sunak’s teams all looked in detail in how to unblock the planning system, yet abandoned the drive in the face of vested interests, green bodies and internal political opposition that proved stronger than the governments they all ran.

Sir Keir and Ms Reeves, with their majority of 163, think they can do better.

But the biggest question in politics for 2025 – one set by the prime minister himself – is are they right that they can be better than all the rest?

Three major changes needed

Sky News has been speaking to experts from across government, developers, industry, business leaders, the environment and nature movements and local campaign groups.

Those in support of the government’s drive for growth say it needs to make three major changes to help big projects get off the ground.

That means taking on three big fights: changing the laws which protect the environment, overhaul the system which forces developers to consult far and wide, and limit the ability of communities to take their objections to court.

In the last week, ministers have announced a start to tackling all three – controversial changes to allow developers to pay into a single pot to satisfy nature rules, limits to the times big projects can be taken to court and changes to the rules around consultations.

These moves have been applauded by developers and campaign groups like Britain Remade, a leading voice trying to push to get Britain building again.

But just because the announcement has happened does not mean policy has changed, the law altered and the fight won.

The legal text of the changes announced in the last week is yet to be published, with legislation not likely to get through parliament this year.

‘Deeply shocking rhetoric’

Labour MPs this week are signalling support, but as campaign groups spring up closer to the next election will they hold their nerve?

And environmental groups – waiting for the fine detail before deciding whether to back or campaign against the plans – are watching, quietly worried at the tone this government has adopted.

If they come out in force against the changes, could this government – which promised to uphold commitments to nature – like its predecessors find itself in trouble?

Already one prominent member of the green movement has signalled they are against. Becky Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, suggested that its organisation with 1.2 million members could come out against.

She objected to the hostile tone of the PM and his team, as well as the proposals themselves.

“There is some deeply shocking rhetoric coming from the UK government around planning.

“The PM claims to ‘clear a path’ for building, but this move runs the risk of bulldozing through our chances for a future where nature, people, and the economy all thrive. We know people want bold action on the climate and nature crises, which was Labour’s election platform, and these announcements have them veering wildly off course,” she wrote on social media.

“The last government’s attack on nature rightly triggered public outrage; Sir Keir and his cabinet should take heed to avoid this path reaching the same dead end. Nature needs to be at the heart of decision making.”

Her comments have been widely circulated, and will be worrying some in government.

Yet even supporters of the government’s plans suggest that confrontational tone might not be necessary since ultimately, the current nature rules are working for no-one.

Sam Richards, from Britain Remade, told me: “This does not mean watering down protections for nature. Under the current regime, we are failing to protect British species. All our key biodiversity indicators are in decline.”

Suggesting all campaigners and politicians who see themselves as pro-environment and pro-nature should support the changes, he added: “We can make it easier to build the clean energy that we need to tackle climate change.

“The homes that we need for the young people can get on the housing ladder, the transport that we need so that people see friends and family and better protect British nature at the same time.”

Exclusive Sky News poll

A government with a 163 majority should be able to push through changes, unless Labour MPs take fright at opposition escalating and the chance of it jeopardising their re-election.

Exclusive YouGov polling for Sky News suggests the public is cautious about the trade offs involved by government.

More voters think Britain’s planning system makes it too difficult to build things – 38%, compared with the 33% who think it’s too easy or about right.

However, when the question is phrased differently, 55% say it’s more important we protect the environment even if it means making things more difficult to build, compared to the 19% who want more building even if it means lower environmental standards.

This raises questions over whether the chancellor was right last week to say growth was “obviously” a higher priority for her than tackling climate change – when others in government are keen to stress the argument they have no intention of lowering standards to get things built.

Growth is this government’s top priority and unblocking the system is the most complex task facing Sir Keir’s team.

Is it a battle the PM will ultimately win?

Politics

Ex-SEC Chair Gary Gensler privately supported crypto — McHenry

Published

2 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Ex-SEC Chair Gary Gensler privately supported crypto — McHenry

Former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler may not have been as hostile to crypto behind closed doors as he appeared to be in public, according to former US Representative Patrick McHenry.

In a May 13 appearance on the Crypto in America podcast, McHenry revealed that during private meetings with Gensler, the former regulator expressed a far more nuanced view of digital assets.

“Did he come across, or was he as anti-crypto in private as he did in public?” McHenry was asked. His response: “No… Nope.”

McHenry noted that Gensler “saw the value of digital assets” and acknowledged the potential of blockchain technology during his time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Gerald Gallagher, general counsel at Sei Labs, also noted that Gensler played a role in developing the concept of the airdrop during his academic work, calling it a largely forgotten chapter in his background.

However, once Gensler became SEC chair, McHenry said, his stance shifted dramatically. “I had this weird, mistaken, stupid belief that he wouldn’t be that bad as SEC chair,” McHenry admitted. “And I mean, just the level of dismay.”

Gensler’s crypto stance was “confusing”

McHenry said discussions with Gensler on crypto regulation were often confusing.

McHenry said conversations with Gensler about legal frameworks and content structures often started off as reasonable, but quickly became contradictory. He described how Gensler would initially agree with certain points, only to later reject the same facts he had acknowledged moments earlier.

According to McHenry, Gensler’s public opposition may have been shaped more by “Senate politics and confirmation politics than anything else.”

After departing the SEC on Jan. 20, Gensler returned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to teach fintech and AI.

Under Gensler’s tenure, which started in 2021, the SEC took an aggressive regulatory stance toward crypto, bringing upward of 100 regulatory actions against industry companies.

The regulatory hostility caused Gensler and his team much scrutiny and backlash from industry leaders.

In December 2024, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced that the crypto exchange would sever ties with law firms employing former SEC officials involved in what he said was an effort to “unlawfully kill” the crypto industry.

In January 2025, Gemini said it wouldn’t hire any MIT graduates unless the university dropped Gensler from his teaching role.

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Kima joins Mastercard sandbox to enable stablecoin card top-ups

Published

3 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Kima joins Mastercard sandbox to enable stablecoin card top-ups

Decentralized settlement protocol Kima has integrated into Mastercard’s sandbox program, enabling stablecoin-powered top-ups for prepaid cards directly from self-custody wallets.

According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Mastercard partners can now rely on Kima’s settlement infrastructure to enable their prepaid cards to be topped up with stablecoins, including USDC (USDC) and Tether’s USDt (USDT), from self-custody wallets across more than 10 blockchains.

Kima CEO Eitan Katz said the integration shows that stablecoins can be practical for everyday use, removing friction and intermediaries from crypto-to-fiat conversions while expanding crypto usability.

“Our goal at Kima is to eliminate barriers between digital assets and traditional finance,” Katz said.

Infrastructure designed for interoperability

Katz described Kima’s settlement system as asset-agnostic and designed to simplify cross-ecosystem payments, supporting public blockchains, private ledgers and traditional banking rails:

“Kima’s asset-agnostic settlement layer is designed to abstract the complexity of transferring value across disparate ecosystems, whether that’s public blockchains, private ledgers, or even traditional banking systems.”

According to the announcement, Kima’s infrastructure is aligned with Mastercard’s aim to bring stablecoins into mainstream financial usage. Katz rejects the Bitcoin and crypto hardliner vision of digital assets being contraposed to fiat currency, claiming that “crypto and fiat must coexist seamlessly to reach their full potential.”

Katz explained that Kima’s solution allows easy crosschain interoperability and eliminates reliance on intermediaries, custodians or complex smart contracts. This, in turn, reportedly enhances security and efficiency for all parties involved.

ECB includes Kima in digital euro initiative

Earlier in May, the European Central Bank (ECB) included Kima in a list of 70 private sector partners tasked with helping in digital euro innovation. The firms on the list have signed up to work with the ECB to explore digital euro payment functionalities and use cases.

“The breadth and creativity of the proposals highlights the digital euro’s potential as a catalyst for financial innovation in Europe,” ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone said at the time.

Mastercard, ECB, European Union, Stablecoin — *Source:* *Kima*

Despite Kima’s institutional partnerships, Katz told Cointelegraph that “compliance shouldn’t mean giving up control of your funds or your data.” He said that know-your-client and Anti-Money Laundering checks are handled by third-party banks and virtual asset service providers at onboarding, and Kima never has access to the data.

Katz added that “once a user is cleared, every transaction carries immutable metadata tags that our protocol-level engine checks against local rules.” This, he said, covers compliance “from the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation to Singapore’s regulatory guidelines — before settlement.”

Katz said that “keys are kept entirely under the users’ control,” while cryptographic proofs still allow for compliance.

“Institutions get a plug-and-play control layer and users enjoy true self-custody,” Katz added.

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Crypto swapper eXch shows signs of life after post-Bybit shutdown

Published

3 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Crypto swapper eXch shows signs of life after post-Bybit shutdown

Once a go-to swapper for hackers and drainers, eXch was shut down by German police in April — but continued activity suggests the story isn’t over.

Without Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, eXch wasn’t your typical crypto exchange. It acted more like an instant swapper, allowing bad actors and cybercriminals to fly under the radar for years.

Among its clients was the Lazarus Group. The North Korean state-backed hacking unit thrust eXch into the spotlight back in February, when it used the platform to funnel some of the $1.4 billion it stole from Bybit. When Bybit traced its stolen funds to eXch, it requested assistance — but the platform refused.

This led to a fierce discussion over privacy versus security, but ultimately, eXch announced it would close its doors on April 17; on April 30, German authorities made it official.

But according to security firm TRM Labs, the platform may have continued operating in stealth mode after the takedown. Here’s the rise, fall and afterlife of alleged crypto laundromat eXch.

eXch shuts front door, keeps back door unlocked

Alongside its shutdown announcement, eXch posted a message claiming it would not facilitate criminal proceeds. The post was removed within hours, and operations quietly resumed — signs of an internal disagreement or perhaps even a calculated attempt to lower visibility, according to TRM.

German authorities seized eXch’s servers and confiscated 34 million euros ($38 million) in crypto, along with more than eight terabytes of data, effectively dismantling its public-facing infrastructure.

“Just like we saw with Garantex rebranding as Grinex, eXch didn’t fully die after the shutdown. It quietly kept servicing a handful of partners via API, which meant laundering activity continued even after the public takedown,” said Jeremiah O’Connor, co-founder and chief technology officer of security firm Trugard.

O’Connor added that it’s not unlikely for such platforms to serve loyal customers even after seizures.

“The people behind eXch.ch took full advantage of operating across multiple countries. The domain was registered through a UK-based provider, listed Switzerland as an admin location, hosted infrastructure in France, and had servers seized in Germany,” O’Connor said.

It’s still unclear if eXch will kill its API or come back under a new name. TRM said in the May 2 blog post that the platform’s remaining back-end access continued to provide anonymization infrastructure for threat actors.

No KYC, pooled liquidity draws illicit funds to eXch

EXch’s origins trace back to 2014, according to “Fantasy,” lead investigator at crypto insurance firm Fairside Network. In an October 2024 investigation, Fantasy identified the platform’s first public appearance as a BitcoinTalk forum account promoting automatic swaps between Bitcoin (BTC), Perfect Money and BTC-e vouchers — payment methods commonly associated with high-risk transactions.

Fantasy also traced the original Bitcoin wallet tied to eXch and found it was likely funded via BTC-e, the now-defunct crypto exchange shuttered by US authorities in 2017 for its role in laundering criminal proceeds.

Fantasy’s forensic research found that the modernized form of eXch emerged in 2022, when its Ethereum hot wallet was first funded. Not long after, it became a hub for prominent crypto drainers.

Monkey Drainer — the first known large-scale drainer-as-a-service operator — used eXch before its retirement. Other draining service providers like Pink Drainer and Inferno Drainer also passed funds through the platform, along with several major exploiters.

EXch required no identity verification, allowing users to move funds with anonymity. That made it an attractive tool for cybercriminals looking to clean stolen assets.

“EXch managed to stay active for years — despite facilitating obvious illicit activity — because there’s still a big gap between what regulators ‘can’ do and how fast technology is moving,” Amit Levin, former investigator at Binance, told Cointelegraph.

“In today’s world, anyone can launch a smart contract or run a crypto service from anywhere, often without revealing who they are. And if there’s no registration, no KYC and no one to hold accountable, enforcement becomes close to impossible.”

The platform also drew confidence from threat actors by using a pooled liquidity system that blended user deposits and withdrawals, making it difficult for investigators and law enforcement to trace the flow of funds.

When eXch knew and did nothing

EXch denied laundering funds for North Korean crypto hackers, and in its shutdown notice, it framed the project as an attempt by privacy enthusiasts to “restore balance” in the industry. It criticized Anti-Money Laundering enforcement and condemned companies offering address risk scoring APIs as “parasites” profiting off government fear.

“Service providers in the crypto space are, for the most part, not decentralized; that is, they retain control over or access to customers’ assets, as demonstrated in the case of eXch,” Gal Arad Cohen, partner at S. Horowitz & Co, told Cointelegraph.

“A financial intermediary operating in the crypto sector faces risks similar to those of traditional financial service providers and should, therefore, be held to equivalent standards and regulatory requirements,” she said.

The closure of eXch is a “huge win” for crypto, according to Alex Katz, CEO of security firm Kerberus. However, Katz warned that bad actors can migrate to alternative projects, like THORChain, which received a shoutout in eXch’s unapologetic farewell manifesto.

In the Bybit hack, decentralized swap protocol THORChain was used as the main bridge to swap around 500,000 Ether (ETH) to Bitcoin.

EXch stated that its partners would retain access to its API for a limited time, but future operations would depend on the “new management team.” The old team recommended setting up new liquidity pools to maintain seamless functionality and said it would provide consultations.

It signed off with a defiant message: “Privacy is not a crime.”

German authorities reported that $1.9 billion in crypto flowed into eXch since its inception. Its operators are suspected of commercial money laundering and running a criminal trading platform.

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