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Sir Keir Starmer has said “it will take some time” before living standards improve in the UK as he faced a grilling from senior MPs.

The prime minister said “we want people to feel better off” but warned his government could not fix everything “by Christmas”.

He was facing the chairs of several parliamentary committees in his first appearance in front of the powerful liaison committee.

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Sir Keir said the increase in the national living wage was a “pay rise for the three million who are the lowest paid” and public sector workers were also feeling the benefit of pay increases.

“In addition to that, the measures that we put in place will improve living standards,” he said.

He added: “It will take some time, of course it will.

“One of the biggest mistakes, I think, in the last 14 years was the idea that everything could be fixed by Christmas. It can’t.”

He said planning how to fix things “will take time”, as will changing regulations to ensure growth can happen.

The prime minister said the October budget, which has been criticised by several sections of society, was about “stabilising the economy”.

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But the prime minister added more needs to be done to grow the economy, with planning reforms a key concern.

The government’s plan to build 1.5 million houses over the next five years will happen, he said.

“I accept it’s difficult, I accept its stretching. But it’s hugely important,” he added.

Sir Keir also defined “blockers” after he pledged to “back the builders, not the blockers”.

Blockers are those who say the UK “shouldn’t have targets” for housebuilding and those who argue “we shouldn’t build here”, he added.

The prime minister gave an example of wind turbines taking 13 years to be installed due to planning objections and delays connecting them to the energy grid.

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Donald Trump and Keir Starmer.
Pic:Reuters
Image:
Donald Trump and Keir Starmer met earlier this year. Pic:Reuters

Sir Keir was also asked about foreign affairs and defence, including on the possibility of tariffs being introduced by Donald Trump.

He said he is “not a fan” of tariffs but thinks he can make progress on trade with the US, and added he does not accept the UK can only be close to the EU or the US.

On defence, the PM was asked by Labour MP Tan Dhesi, chair of the defence committee, what keeps him up at night.

He said he is not kept awake because he is confident in the UK’s defence and security, adding we have “first class personnel here and across the world”.

However, he said he accepts we are “living in a more volatile world” and his government has doubled down on support for NATO.

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On migration, Sir Keir said the UK will always need overseas skills but the levels are too high.

“Obviously what I don’t want to do is to choke off businesses that are thriving at the moment by cutting their legs off and say ‘you can’t have inward migration’,” he said.

Sir Keir was thanked by the liaison committee chair Dame Meg Hillier for his “commitment to transparency and scrutiny”.

The PM appears in front of the committee roughly twice a year so the next time could be next summer.

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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.

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