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Reform UK has pulled to within two points of the Conservatives, according to the latest YouGov poll of the election campaign for Sky News.

The latest exclusive weekly survey, conducted on Monday and Tuesday before the head-to-head TV debate, puts Labour on 40%, the Tories on 19%, Reform UK on 17%, the Liberal Democrats on 10% and the Greens on 7%.

Most of the poll, which was carried out using different methodology to last week’s survey, was conducted after Nigel Farage became leader of Reform on Monday.

Compared to the last voting intention poll taken on Thursday and Friday, the Conservatives are down two, Labour is down six, the Lib Dems are up two and Reform is up two.

This means under the new methodology, the lead for Labour is 21 points.

YouGov interviewed 2,144 GB adults online.

The impact of the methodological change – which applies modelling to turnout and the behaviour of don’t knows – is typically to reduce the Labour lead by three and increase the Lib Dem share by about two. There is usually no boost to the Tory share.

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YouGov says the impact on this particular poll of the methodological change is slightly bigger because of rounding, and the Labour lead under the old method would have been 27 points, up from the 25-point lead at the end of last week.

Richard Tice and Nigel Farage during the campaign launch.
Pic: PA
Image:
Nigel Farage (R) has taken over Richard Tice (L) as leader of the Reform party. Pic: PA

The poll is likely to worry some Conservatives, who fear losing voters on the right of their party to Reform UK – especially now Mr Farage is at the helm.

The veteran Eurosceptic on Monday announced he would not only take over as Reform’s leader, but also stand as a candidate in Clacton, Essex.

Read More:
What is the Reform party and what are their policies?
Panic will spread through Tory ranks after stunning poll
Woman charged with assault after milkshake thrown at Farage

This will be his eighth time trying to be an MP, having never previously succeeded.

He had initially ruled out standing but said he had a “terrible sense of guilt” for not putting himself forward when the election was called.

Mr Farage has ruled out doing a deal with the Tories – as he did in 2019 when Reform was known as the Brexit party – saying at his campaign launch that he has been “betrayed by a Conservative Party I have given considerable help to”.

He said his goal was to win “millions” more votes than UKIP had, which was another party he previously led, and make Reform the official opposition.

A YouGov MRP poll of 53,334 people in England and Wales and 5,541 in Scotland, published on Monday, had the Conservatives likely to win Clacton but that was before Mr Farage made his dramatic announcement to return to frontline politics.

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COVID schemes’ fraud and error cost taxpayers £11bn

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COVID schemes' fraud and error cost taxpayers £11bn

COVID-19 fraud and error cost the taxpayer nearly £11bn, a government watchdog has found.

Pandemic support programmes such as furlough, bounce-back loans, support grants and Eat Out to Help Out led to £10.9bn in fraud and error, COVID Counter-Fraud Commissioner Tom Hayhoe’s final report has concluded.

Lack of government data to target economic support made it “easy” for fraudsters to claim under more than one scheme and secure dual funding, the report said.

Weak accountability, bad quality data and poor contracting were identified as the primary causes of the loss.

The government has said the sum is enough to fund daily free school meals for the UK’s 2.7 million eligible children for eight years.

An earlier report from Mr Hayhoe for the Treasury in June found that failed personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts during the pandemic cost the British taxpayer £1.4 billion, with £762 million spent on unused protective equipment unlikely ever to be recovered.

Factors behind the lost money had included government over-ordering of PPE, and delays in checking it.

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Circle gets Abu Dhabi greenlight amid UAE stablecoin and crypto push

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Circle gets Abu Dhabi greenlight amid UAE stablecoin and crypto push

Stablecoin issuer Circle has secured regulatory approval to operate as a financial service provider in the Abu Dhabi International Financial Center, deepening its push into the United Arab Emirates.

In an announcement Tuesday, Circle Internet Group said it received a Financial Services Permission license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre of Abu Dhabi. This allows the stablecoin issuer to operate as a Money Services Provider in the IFC.

The USDC (USDC) issuer also appointed Saeeda Jaffar as its managing director for Circle Middle East and Africa. The new executive also serves as a senior vice president and group country manager for the Gulf Operation Council at Visa and will be tasked with developing the stablecoin issuer’s regional strategy and partnerships.

Circle co-founder, chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire said that the relevant regulatory framework “sets a high bar for transparency, risk management, and consumer protection,” adding that those standards are needed if “trusted stablecoins” are going to support payments and finance at scale.

UAE, Circle, Stablecoin
Source: Circle

Related: Abu Dhabi Investment Council triples stake in Bitcoin ETF in Q3: Report

Abu Dhabi awards a wave of licenses

The ADGM has recently awarded licenses for financial operations to a wave of crypto companies. Earlier this week, Tether’s USDt (USDT) — the largest stablecoin by circulation and Circle’s top competitor — secured a regulatory milestone in Abu Dhabi’s international financial center, as did Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin Ripple USD at the end of November.

On Monday, crypto exchange Binance was granted three separate licenses from Abu Dhabi’s financial regulator, allowing it to operate its exchange, clearing house and broker-dealer services. This followed its competitor Bybit receiving regulatory approval in the UAE in early October.

Related: HSBC to bring tokenized deposits to US and UAE as stablecoin race heats up

UAE bets on crypto

The Central Bank of the UAE has been actively reviewing its cryptocurrency regulations. In November, it introduced rules for decentralized finance (DeFi) and the broader Web3 industry.

The newly introduced Federal Decree Law No. 6 of 2025 brings DeFi platforms, related services and infrastructure providers under the scope of regulations if they enable payments, exchange, lending, custody, or investment services, with licenses now required. Local crypto lawyer Irina Heaver said that “DeFi projects can no longer avoid regulation by claiming they are just code.”

Heaver told Cointelegraph at the end of 2024 that during that year the country cemented its status as a global crypto hub.

In October 2024, the UAE exempted cryptocurrency transfers and conversions from value-added tax, just a month after Dubai’s digital asset regulator announced stricter rules on crypto marketing. Around the same time, local free economic zone Ras Al Khaimah Digital Assets Oasis was also working to introduce a legal framework for decentralized autonomous organizations.

Local regulators were not shy about enforcing the rules, with Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority cracking down on seven unlicensed crypto businesses, issuing fines and cease-and-desist orders.

Magazine: Review: The Devil Takes Bitcoin, a wild history of Mt. Gox and Silk Road