‘You can’t lose four elections and not change’, insists Starmer – but refuses to say if he’s moving Labour from left
Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly refused to say if he is moving Labour away from the left to the centre of British politics, but insisted: “You can’t lose four elections and not change”.
On the eve of his first in-person Labour conference speech as party leader, Sir Keir said he was focussed on turning Labour “from a party that looks inward to a party that looks outward” and “from a party that looks backwards to a party that looks forward”.
The Labour leader told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that the change to the party during this week’s conference in Brighton had been “profound”, following his efforts to alter Labour’s internal rulebook.
Sir Keir admitted he and deputy leader Angela Rayner have ‘disagreements’
And he admitted that he and Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner – who was criticised this week for calling Conservative ministers “scum” – have “disagreements” amid their “different approaches and different styles”.
The first few days of Labour’s gathering in Brighton were dominated by a row over Sir Keir’s efforts to change the party’s rules on leadership elections, with him accused of attempting to freeze out the party’s left-wing from future contests.
And Sir Keir was also rocked by the resignation of shadow minister Andy McDonald over a row about whether the party should back a minimum wage of £15 per hour.
Sir Keir denied he was pleased to see Mr McDonald – who had been among the last remaining supporters of his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, in the shadow cabinet – announce he was leaving Labour’s top team.
But he said: “I don’t want to have a discussion about Andy McDonald, I want our party to be focussed on the country.
“The change this week has been profound for our party.”
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And on his battle to change Labour’s rulebook, Sir Keir added: “A lot of people said to me ‘why are you doing this Keir? Are you going to get it over the line?’.
“I took a lot of criticism, but we stuck with it because it was a tough decision that had to be taken.
“You can’t lose four elections and not change, and we’ve changed.”
However, pressed on whether the Brighton gathering had shown how he was moving Labour away from Mr Corbyn’s leftist agenda, Sir Keir repeatedly refused to engage with the suggestion he was positioning his party closer to the centre of British politics.
“I want to move the party to a position where it focuses on what matters to working families,” he said.
“Let me tell you what that is, that is a decent education for every child, it is secure work, well-paid work near where people live, it is a health service that works for people where they need it and security.”
He added: “I’m moving it from a party that looks inward to a party that looks outward, I’m moving it from a party that looks backwards to a party that looks forward.”
As well as Mr McDonald’s resignation, Sir Keir and his allies have also been forced to field questions about Ms Rayner’s description of Conservatives as “scum” to Labour activists during a conference rally.
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Party conferences: What’s the point?
Asked if this hindered his efforts to win back former Labour voters who backed the Tories in recent elections, Sir Keir said: “I wouldn’t use language.
“Angela Rayner and I have different approaches and different styles.
“It’s not language I would have used. Angela and I talk everyday – of course we have huge agreements and disagreements.”
But he added both he and his deputy had “one central aim” to “get the Labour Party in a position to win an election, and then to win an election”.
Binance is set to implement new compliance measures for South African users, requiring sender and receiver information for all crypto deposits and withdrawals.
In an announcement on April 23, the largest exchange in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies said the move comes in response to local regulatory demands.
Starting April 30, Binance users in South Africa will be prompted to provide additional information when transferring crypto.
For deposits, users must disclose the sender’s full name, country of residence, and, if applicable, the name of the originating crypto exchange. Similarly, withdrawals will require beneficiary details before processing.
The update will only impact crypto deposits and withdrawals, leaving trading and other platform features unaffected.
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Missing transfer details may reverse transactions
Binance warned that failure to provide the required information may result in delayed transactions or, in some cases, a return of funds to the sender.
In preparation for the rollout, users will need to re-login to their accounts starting April 24.
The change comes as South Africa moves to boost oversight of the rapidly moving crypto sector.
On April 2, Bloomberg reported that South Africa’s Revenue Service (SARS) is urging individuals, crypto exchanges and intermediaries involved in crypto transactions to register with the authority, warning that failure to do so is now illegal.
In March, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa issued a public warning against two unlicensed crypto firms, Afriinvest and Mutualwealth, accusing them of soliciting investments while promising unrealistic returns of up to 10,000 rand ($542) per day.
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South Africa pushes to become key crypto hub
Emerging economies across Africa, particularly South Africa, are positioning themselves as potential digital asset hubs amid growing regulatory clarity, Ben Caselin, chief marketing officer (CMO) of Johannesburg-based crypto exchange VALR, told Cointelegraph in September 2024.
Caselin said that South Africa’s strong legal framework and ease of business make it a key entry point for crypto expansion across the continent.
The South African crypto market is projected to generate $278 million in revenue in 2025, with expectations to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.86% and reach $332.9 million by 2028, according to Statista.
Regulatory momentum is increasing, with the FSCA approving 59 crypto platform licenses in March 2024, while over 260 applications remain under review.
Cointelegraph contacted Binance for comments but did not receive a response by publication.
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Robert Jenrick has vowed to “bring this coalition together” to ensure that Conservatives and Reform UK are no longer fighting each other for votes by the time of the next election, according to a leaked recording obtained by Sky News.
The shadow justice secretary told an event with students last month he would try “one way or another” to make sure Reform UK and the Tories do not compete at another general election and hand a second term in office to Keir Starmer in the process.
In the exclusive audio, Mr Jenrick can be heard telling the students he is still working hard to put Reform UK out of business – the position of the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick. Pic: PA
However, more controversially, the comments also suggest he can envisage a time when that position may no longer be viable and has to change. He denies any suggestion this means he is advocating a Tory-Reform UK pact.
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The shadow justice secretary came second to Mrs Badenoch in the last leadership contest and is the bookies’ favourite to replace her as the next Conservative leader.
Robert Jenrick lost the Tory leadership contest to Kemi Badenoch. Pic: PA
Speaking to the UCL Conservative association dinner in late March, he can be heard saying: “[Reform UK] continues to do well in the polls. And my worry is that they become a kind of permanent or semi-permanent fixture on the British political scene. And if that is the case, and I say, I am trying to do everything I can to stop that being the case, then life becomes a lot harder for us, because the right is not united.
“And then you head towards the general election, where the nightmare scenario is that Keir Starmer sails in through the middle as a result of the two parties being disunited. I don’t know about you, but I’m not prepared for that to happen.
“I want the fight to be united. And so, one way or another, I’m determined to do that and to bring this coalition together and make sure we unite as a nation as well.”
This is the furthest a member of the shadow cabinet has gone in suggesting that they think the approach to Reform UK may evolve before the next general election.
Last night, Mr Jenrick denied this meant he was advocating a pact with Reform UK.
Read more:
Badenoch dismisses ‘threat’ from Jenrick
Your ultimate guide to the local elections
A source close to Mr Jenrick said: “Rob’s comments are about voters and not parties. He’s clear we have to put Reform out of business and make the Conservatives the natural home for all those on the right, rebuilding the coalition of voters we had in 2019 and can have again. But he’s under no illusions how difficult that is – we have to prove over time we’ve changed and can be trusted again.”
Mrs Badenoch has said in interviews that she cannot see any circumstances that the Tories under her leadership would do a deal with Reform UK.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Pic: PA
In next week’s local elections, Reform UK will compete directly against the Tories in a series of contests from Kent to Lincolnshire. At last year’s general election, in more than 170 of the 251 constituencies lost by the Conservatives the Reform vote was greater than the margin of the Tories’ defeat.
Today’s YouGov/Sky voting intention figures put Reform UK in front on 25%, Labour on 23% and the Conservatives on 20%, with the Lib Dems on 16% and Greens on 10%.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has said it doesn’t intend to refile its securities fraud complaint against Hex founder Richard Schueler, who goes by Richard Heart.
“Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission provides this notice that it does not intend to file an amended complaint in this matter,” the regulator’s lawyer, Matthew Gulde, stated in an April 21 letter to New York District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon.
The court had previously dismissed the SEC’s original complaint on Feb. 28 as Judge Amon said the regulator failed to establish that it had jurisdiction over Heart’s activities, which she said were not specifically targeted at US investors.
She granted leave for the SEC to file an amended complaint by March 20, later extending the deadline to April 21.
Heart posted to X on April 22 that “Richard Heart, PulseChain, PulseX, and HEX have defeated the SEC completely and have achieved regulatory clarity that nearly no other coins have.”
Heart added that the SEC walked away from some of its other cryptocurrency cases voluntarily, but claimed his was the only case where “the SEC lost and crypto won across the board, with a dismissal in court of every single claim the SEC brought.”
Heart said it was a victory for open-source software, cryptocurrency and free speech because the SEC “actually sued software code itself in this case.”
SEC hunted Heart in Finland
The SEC sued Heart in July 2023 for alleged unregistered securities offerings of three tokens, HEX, PulseChain (PLS), and PulseX (PSLX), claiming he made more than $1 billion by touting the tokens as a “pathway to grandiose wealth for investors.”
In April 2024, Heart tried to have the suit tossed, claiming the regulator “has no sway over him,” because he didn’t reside in the United States.
Related: Finnish police seize watches worth $2.6M from Hex founder Richard Heart: Report
The SEC opposed this in August, claiming he touted the tokens at a Las Vegas event. In December 2024, Interpol issued a Red Notice for Heart, seeking his arrest in Finland, where he was also suspected of tax evasion.
The PulseChain native token (HEX) hit an all-time high of $0.031 in December 2024 but has since tanked 76% as most altcoins have failed to follow Bitcoin’s momentum this year.
The SEC has dropped or suspended several cases against crypto firms so far this year under the Trump administration.
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