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Is this the shape of things to come?

Are Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK about to bury the hatchet and work together?

Tory and Reform MPs joined forces to back a Commons move by Mr Farage to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.

It was the biggest and most high-profile display of co-operation between these hitherto sworn enemies seen in parliament so far.

Could it be a pointer to some sort of arrangement or pact in opposition to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and other left-leaning parties after the next election?

The issue that brought about the new apparent love-in between the feuding parties on the right of UK politics was a 10-minute rule bill moved by Mr Farage.

Surrounded by opponents from the Lib Dems and SNP, Mr Farage was shouted down throughout his speech, before the Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey launched an angry onslaught opposing his bill.

More on Kemi Badenoch

Of course, withdrawing from the ECHR is an issue on which the Conservatives and Reform UK agree. But quite often the big parties ignore Commons motions moved by small parties.

Not this time. Voting was 96 MPs in favour and 154 against Mr Farage’s ECHR Withdrawal Bill, with 63 Labour MPs, 64 Liberal Democrats and Jeremy Corbyn’s band of 10 independents voting against.

Kemi Badenoch led 87 Conservative MPs into the Aye lobby alongside Mr Farage, his Reform UK colleagues Richard Tice, Lee Anderson and Danny Kruger, who was a teller, and a few Northern Ireland MPs.

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The Conservative MPs backing Mr Farage’s motion included most of the shadow cabinet. The Tory grandee Sir John Whittingdale was the Reform UK leader’s other teller.

After the vote, Mr Farage thanked former cabinet ministers Suella Braverman and Sir Gavin Williamson and – most significantly – shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick for co-signing his bill.

While Mrs Badenoch has publicly ruled out a pact with Reform UK, Mr Jenrick told Sky News during the Tory conference earlier this month it was “not a priority”.

The breakdown of the voting numbers tells us that without the 63 Labour MPs voting against, Mr Farage would have won the vote, although victory on a ten-minute rule bill is purely symbolic.

And indeed, until a last-minute plea by pro-Europe Labour MPs led by Stella Creasy, the Labour leadership’s plan had been to ignore the vote and abstain.

But the party’s high command is understood to have been warned that, purely symbolic or not, allowing Farage’s bill to be passed would send a terrible signal to the UK’s European neighbours.

And so the new government chief whip Jonathan Reynolds relented and ruled that while ministers should abstain and not take part, backbenchers could vote against Mr Farage if they wished.

Ed Davey later claimed the credit for defeating Mr Farage, however. “We just defeated Nigel Farage’s bill in parliament to tear up people’s rights and withdraw from the ECHR,” he said.

“Farage wants to do away with the Britain Churchill built and turn it into a version of Trump’s America. We stopped him.”

But could this vote signal that some form of coalition politics may be on the way back in the Commons, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats v the Conservatives and Reform UK?

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CFTC greenlights spot crypto trading on US exchanges

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CFTC greenlights spot crypto trading on US exchanges

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has given approval for spot cryptocurrency products to trade on federally regulated futures exchanges.

In a Thursday notice, Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham said the move was in response to policy directives from US President Donald Trump. She added that the approval followed recommendations by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, engagement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and consultations from the CFTC’s “Crypto Sprint” initiative.

“[F]or the first time ever, spot crypto can trade on CFTC-registered exchanges that have been the gold standard for nearly a hundred years, with the customer protections and market integrity that Americans deserve,” said Pham.

Investments, SEC, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Trading
Source: Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham

Pham, who became acting CFTC chair in January amid Trump’s taking office, is expected to step down once the US Senate confirms a replacement. The nomination of Michael Selig, an SEC official whom Trump nominated to chair the CFTC, is expected to head to the Senate floor for a vote soon after moving out of committee. 

Related: Acting CFTC chair seeks CEOs for ‘innovation council,’ citing crypto policy

One of the derivatives exchanges poised to be among the first to begin enacting trading is Bitnomial, which scheduled its launch for next week. The exchange is authorized to operate under the CFTC as a Designated Contract Market, which Coinbase also obtained in 2020.

Awaiting market structure, new leadership at CFTC

In addition to Selig’s nomination under consideration in the Senate, the CFTC has four empty commissioner seats on its leadership. As of Thursday, Trump had not announced any potential replacements for the regulator.

Also expected soon is for US senators to advance a digital asset market structure bill, legislation expected to lay out clear regulatory roles for the CFTC and SEC over cryptocurrencies. Discussion drafts of possible frameworks would give the CFTC more authority to regulate digital assets.