‘Child poverty will increase for first time under Labour and it’s paving way for Reform’, Corbyn warns Starmer
Child poverty is set to increase under a Labour government for the first time in history and an “alternative path” is needed to stop the rise of Reform UK, Sir Keir Starmer has been warned.
A joint statement signed by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other cross-party MPs calls for a wealth tax on those with assets over £10m “so we can rebuild our schools and hospitals”.
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The letter, in response to Rachel Reeves’s spring statement, says the chancellor has made a “choice” to push more disabled people and children into poverty by announcing departmental spending cuts while increasing money invested into defence.
“This isn’t about scarcity, it’s about priorities”, it said, adding: “This is set to be the first Labour government in history under which child poverty increases.
“Labour’s failure has paved the way for Reform. We need an alternative path.
“Parroting the rhetoric of Reform UK on migrants, minorities and Muslims just endorses their scapegoating and makes society worse for us all.”
As well as Mr Corbyn, who is now an independent MP, the statement was signed by suspended Labour MPs Sarah Zultana and Apsana Begum, Green MPs, independents and other figures calling for “progressive politics”.
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Corbyn blasts Labour over ‘austerity’
It comes ahead of the launch of Reform UK’s local election campaign on Friday, with the party hoping to make gains in May after overtaking Labour in multiple polls.
The letter describes the “alternative path” as one where the richest in society and multinational companies face higher taxes, rent controls are brought in, water and energy are nationalised and money is invested “in welfare, not warfare”.
These measures have previously been ruled out by Ms Reeves, but she is coming under pressure following her spring statement on Wednesday.
Spring statement takeaways
The economic update included a £2.2bn increase in defence spending over the next year to help the government reach its goal of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027.
The chancellor also deepened previously announced welfare cuts alongside further departmental spending reductions to make up for £10bn in lost fiscal headroom since her October budget, caused by poor growth and global instability.
The government’s own impact assessment estimates another 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – could be pushed into relative poverty by 2030 because of the measures.
However Ms Reeves said that assessment did not take into account steps the government was taking to get people back into work. She has also rejected a separate analysis that suggests the average family could be £1,400 a year worse off by the end of the decade.
Labour MPs unhappy
Several Labour MPs have spoken out against the cuts and some have said they will vote against them. However Ms Reeves is believed to have staved off a full-scale rebellion for now, as most trust she is serious about getting the nation’s finances back on track.
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Backlash over welfare cuts
Corbyn brands benefit cuts a ‘disgrace’
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Chancellor defends welfare cuts
The chancellor is determined to stick to her self-imposed fiscal rules, including using tax receipts rather than borrowing to account for day-to-day spending.
However she may come under pressure to change course if global factors like Donald Trump’s trade war eat into her fiscal headroom again by the time of the next budget in October – meaning she would have to raise taxes or announce further spending cuts in order to balance the books.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned tax rises are likely in the autumn as Ms Reeves has left herself vulnerable to forecast changes, speculating that pensioners and the wealthiest could be targeted in the raid.
Earlier this week, a YouGov poll found three quarters of the British public would support tax rises on the very richest over expected cuts to public spending, including a 2% wealth tax on net assets worth more than £10m.
A US dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by a cryptocurrency platform tied to US President Donald Trump’s family could complicate ongoing bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation in Congress, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
The Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI) crypto platform launched the World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) US dollar-pegged stablecoin in early March, prompting concerns over potential conflicts of interest.
Despite political pushback from Democratic Party lawmakers, WLFI’s stablecoin plans are in line with the current US stablecoin legislation, according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.
“The planned backing, audits, qualified custody, public blockchains and no native yield-bearing — all these elements are well in line with the GENIUS and STABLE acts,” she said in an interview with Cointelegraph.
“I would argue that this is a direct expression of support to the US-based stablecoins, and in any case, the stablecoin issuer is subject to the authorization of OCC, state regulators and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,” she added.
Related: Stablecoins, tokenized assets gain as Trump tariffs loom
The launch comes as two major stablecoin bills move through Congress.
The STABLE Act, introduced on Feb. 6, aims to create a clear regulatory framework for dollar-denominated payment stablecoins. It focuses on transparency and consumer protection and enables issuers to choose between federal and state oversight.
Source: STABLE Act
The GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, would establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws. The act recently passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6.
Related: Trump turned crypto from ‘oppressed industry’ to ‘centerpiece’ of US strategy
Trump’s USD1 stablecoin is “throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts”
While some see WLFI’s stablecoin as a positive signal for crypto adoption, others fear it may complicate the passage of current legislation, politicizing it in the process.
“Trump’s new US dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD1, is throwing a wrench into bipartisan efforts to pass stablecoin legislation, possibly something like the GENIUS Act,” according to Dmitrij Radin, the founder of Zekret and chief technology officer of Fideum.
“With the Trump family holding a major stake and revenue share, critics like Senator [Elizabeth] Warren and Representative [Jim] Himes are calling out potential conflicts of interest,” Radin told Cointelegraph, adding:
“The concern would be that any law could be seen as financially benefiting Trump, making some lawmakers hesitant. While the bill could still pass, this twist might delay it or force stricter rules to keep it neutral.”
While stablecoins appear ready for mainstream adoption, “political drama” may push innovation offshore if regulators become overly restrictive, Radin said, adding that banks and the Federal Reserve are still “pushing back” against stablecoin adoption.
Meanwhile, crypto industry professionals have urged US lawmakers to create more regulatory clarity around stablecoins and crypto banking relationships before legislators switch their focus to crypto tax laws.
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Binance has discontinued spot trading pairs with Tether’s USDt in the European Economic Area (EEA) to comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has delisted spot trading pairs with several non-MiCA-compliant tokens in the EEA in line with a plan disclosed in early March, Cointelegraph has learned.
While spot trading pairs in tokens such as USDt (USDT) are now delisted on Binance, users in the EEA can still custody the affected tokens and trade them in perpetual contracts.
USDT is available for perpetual trading on Binance. Source: Binance
According to a previous announcement by Binance, the spot trading pairs for non-MiCA-compliant tokens were to be delisted by March 31, which is in line with a local requirement to delist such tokens by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Delistings on other exchanges in EEA
Binance is not the only crypto exchange delisting non-MiCA-compliant tokens for spot trading in the EEA.
Other exchanges, such as Kraken, have delisted spot trading pairs in tokens such as USDT in the EEA after announcing plans in February.
According to a notice on the Kraken website, the exchange restricted USDT for sell-only mode in the EEA on March 24. At the time of writing, the platform doesn’t allow its EEA users to buy the affected tokens.
Kraken restricted USDT to sell-only mode in the EEA on March 24. Source: Kraken
Among other non-MiCA-compliant tokens, Binance has also delisted spot trading pairs for Dai (DAI), First Digital USD (FDUSD), TrueUSD (TUSD), Pax Dollar (USDP), Anchored Euro (AEUR), TerraUSD (UST), TerraClassicUSD (USTC) and PAX Gold (PAXG).
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Kraken’s delisting roadmap in the EEA only included five tokens: USDT, PayPal USD (PYUSD), Tether EURt (EURT), TrueUSD and TerraClassicUSD.
ESMA doesn’t prohibit custody of non-MiCA-compliant tokens
Binance and Kraken’s move to maintain custody services for non-MiCA-compliant tokens aligns with a previous communication from MiCA compliance supervisors.
On March 5, a spokesperson for the ESMA told Cointelegraph that custody and transfer services for non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins do not violate the new European cryptocurrency laws.
On the other hand, the same regulator previously advised European crypto asset service providers to halt all transactions involving the affected tokens after March 31, adding a certain extent of confusion over MiCA requirements.
Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025
Vanuatu has passed laws to regulate digital assets and provide a licensing regime for crypto companies wanting to operate in the Pacific island nation, which a government regulatory consultant has called “very stringent.”
The local parliament passed the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act on March 26, giving crypto licensing authority to the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) along with powers to enforce the Financial Action Task Force’s Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing and Travel Rule standards with crypto firms.
The VFSC has sweeping investigation and enforcement powers under the laws, with penalties stipulating fines of up to 250 million vatu ($2 million) and up to 30 years in prison.
“God help any scammer that goes into Vanuatu because you’ll go to jail,” Loretta Joseph, who consulted with the regulator on the laws, told Cointelegraph. “The laws are very stringent.”
“The thing is, we don’t want another FTX debacle,” she added, referring to the once Bahamas-based crypto exchange that collapsed in 2022 due to massive fraud committed by its co-founders, Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, along with other executives.
“Vanuatu is a small jurisdiction. Small jurisdictions are preyed on by the players that are looking for no regulation or light touch regulation,” Joseph said. “This is certainly not that.”
“I’m so proud of them to be the first country in the Pacific to actually take a position and do this,” she added.
New Vanuatu law regulates slate of crypto companies
The law establishes a licensing and reporting framework for exchanges, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, crypto custody providers and initial coin offerings.
The law notably allows for banks to be licensed to provide crypto exchange and custody services. Source: Parliament of the Republic of Vanuatu
The VFSC said that the legislation doesn’t affect stablecoins, tokenized securities, and central bank digital currencies even though they “may in practice share some similarities with virtual assets.”
The legislation also allows for the VFSC’s commissioner to create a sandbox to allow approved companies to offer a variety of crypto services for a year, which can be renewed.
Related: Australia outlines crypto regulation plan, promises action on debanking
Joseph said Vanuatu “needed a standalone piece of legislation” that covered Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terror Financing requirements, as the country didn’t have existing laws suited to virtual assets.
The regulator said in a March 29 statement that it had developed the legislative framework after years of “assessing the risks associated with virtual assets,” and the laws would open “numerous opportunities for Vanuatu” and improve financial inclusion by allowing regulated services for crypto cross-border payments.
VFSC Commissioner Branan Karae had said in June that the bill was expected to pass that September, but Joseph said the legislation was “not something that was done lightly.” It had been in development since 2020 and was delayed due to changes in government, natural disasters and COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions.
Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025
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