Tory ‘turmoil’ stopped party tackling Islamophobia in its ranks

Published

2 years ago

July 24, 2023

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The “turmoil” at the top of the Tories has led to “slow” progress in tackling Islamophobia within the party, an independent reviewer has said.

Boris Johnson launched an inquiry into discrimination within its ranks after the last election in 2019.

And in 2021, Professor Swaran Singh published his findings, saying anti-Muslim sentiment “remains a problem” for the Conservatives.

But two years later, the former equality and human rights commissioner said the raft of changes in leadership – with three Tory prime ministers in three months – had impacted his recommendations being put into place.

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In his latest review, Professor Singh said no formal process had been installed to handle discrimination complaints about senior members of the party.

He also said local-level training was “mixed”, and the response to his investigation had not necessarily improved “awareness or action on the ground”.

And he said those coming forward with allegations needed better care.

“Politics is a rough business, but there is no reason why the complaints process should be indifferent or abrasive to the experience of individuals involved,” Professor Singh wrote.

Mr Johnson promised a review into Islamophobia as part of his Tory leadership campaign – along with his competitors – after rising numbers of complaints in the party.

The former prime minister had faced criticism for his own remarks, comparing Muslim women wearing burkas to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers” in a column for the Daily Telegraph.

When he launched the review, Mr Johnson widened it to cover all forms of discrimination – a move criticised by the Muslim Council of Britain, which wanted a separate inquiry into Islamophobia.

Professor Singh found two-thirds of all incidents reported to the complaints team at the Tories’ headquarters related to allegations of anti-Muslim discrimination, and three-quarters of all incidents recorded in the complaints database involved social media.

He said high-profile incidents, such as remarks made during Lord Goldsmith’s London mayoral campaign in 2016 and Mr Johnson’s comments on Muslim women, “give the impression to many that the party and its leadership are insensitive to Muslim communities”.

The professor called for an overhaul of the Conservatives’ complaints system, more transparency and clear guidelines as to which behaviours should attract which sanctions.

‘Political upheaval’

The party accepted his recommendations in 2021, but Mr Johnson was ousted the following summer, to be replaced by Liz Truss, and she then resigned with Rishi Sunak taking over – also leading to numerous changes to the party chair.

“The two years since the publication of the report have seen considerable political upheaval in the UK,” wrote Professor Singh.

“This turmoil has impacted on the party’s efforts to implement our recommendations.

“Change took longer than expected, and challenges resulting from the interdependencies between recommendations contributed to delays in implementation.”

He pointed to one case in particular, where a complainant said no sanction had been put in place after nearly a year and the offending continued “undeterred”.

“No apology has been offered to the complainant, or demanded of the respondents, despite the panel imposing other sanctions,” said Professor Singh.

On Monday, he gave the party fresh recommendations, including reviewing whether complaints against the most senior members should be handled independently.

Responding to the report, the current Conservative chairman, Greg Hands, said: “The party has made significant progress on Professor Singh’s recommendations with 25 complete and just six ongoing.

“There is however still work to be done and this is a process of continual improvement.”

Politics

US court pauses 18-state lawsuit against SEC after agency’s leadership change

Published

5 hours ago

April 17, 2025

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US court pauses 18-state lawsuit against SEC after agency’s leadership change

A US federal judge has agreed to pause a lawsuit filed by 18 state attorneys general and the crypto lobby group DeFi Education Fund against the Securities and Exchange Commission after all parties said new SEC leadership could make the action moot.

Kentucky District Court Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove ordered a 60-day stay on the case on April 16, noting a mid-March filing from the SEC that “this case could potentially be resolved” due to a leadership transition at the regulator.

He added that the parties must file a joint status report within 30 days.

Paul Atkins, a Wall Street adviser who has held board positions with crypto advocacy groups, was sworn in as the new SEC chair earlier this month, replacing acting chair Mark Uyeda and taking over from Gary Gensler.

The 18 attorneys general, all hailing from Republican states, filed the lawsuit with the DeFi Education Fund against the securities regulator in November, alleging that the SEC exceeded its authority when targeting crypto exchanges with lawsuits, accusing the regulator and then-chair Gensler of “gross government overreach.”

The plaintiffs included attorneys general from Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio, Montana, Indiana, Oklahoma and Florida, among others.

“Without Congressional authorization, the SEC has sought to unilaterally wrest regulatory authority away from the States through an ongoing series of enforcement actions,” the lawsuit stated.

DeFi groups drop case against IRS over killed broker rule

Meanwhile, the DeFi Education Fund, Blockchain Association, and Texas Blockchain Council dropped their lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service on April 16.

“The parties hereby stipulate to voluntary dismissal of this action without prejudice because the case has become moot,” stated the filing.

The lawsuit, filed in December, argued that the so-called IRS DeFi broker rule went beyond the agency’s authority and was unconstitutional.

On April 11, President Donald Trump signed a bill to revoke the rule that would have required DeFi protocols to report transactions to the IRS.

It comes as the SEC has paused or dropped several high-profile lawsuits against crypto companies this year under its new leadership.

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Panama’s capital to accept crypto for taxes, municipal fees

Published

13 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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<div>Panama's capital to accept crypto for taxes, municipal fees</div>

Panama’s capital city will accept cryptocurrency payments for taxes and municipal fees, including bus tickets and permits, Panama City mayor Mayer Mizrachi announced on April 15, joining a growing list of jurisdictions globally that have voted to accept such payments.

Panama City will begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Circle’s USDC (USDC), and Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin for payment once the crypto-to-fiat payment rails are established, Mizrachi posted on the X platform.

Mizrachi said previous administrations attempted to push through similar legislation but failed to overcome stipulations requiring the local government to accept funds denominated in US dollars.

In a translated statement, the Panama City mayor said that the local government partnered with a bank that will immediately convert any digital assets received into US dollars, allowing the municipality to accept crypto without introducing new legislation.

Panama City joins a growing list of global jurisdictions on the municipal and state level accepting cryptocurrency payments for taxes, exploring Bitcoin strategic reserves to protect public treasuries from inflation and passing pro-crypto policies to attract investment.

Taxes, Panama, Bitcoin Adoption — *Source:* *Mayer Mizrachi*

Municipalities and states embrace digital assets

Several municipalities and territories around the globe already accept crypto for tax payments or are exploring various implementations of blockchain technology for government spending.

The US state of Colorado started accepting crypto payments for taxes in September 2022. Much like Panama City said it will do, Colorado immediately converts the crypto to fiat.

In December 2023, the city of Lugano, Switzerland, announced taxes and city fees could be paid in Bitcoin, which was one of the developments that earned it the reputation of being a globally recognized Bitcoin city.

The city council of Vancouver, Canada, passed a motion to become “Bitcoin-friendly city” in December 2024. As part of that motion, the Vancouver local government will explore integrating BTC into the financial system, including tax payments.

North Carolina lawmaker Neal Jackson introduced legislation titled “The North Carolina Digital Asset Freedom Act” on April 10. If passed, the bill will recognize cryptocurrencies as an official form of payment that can be used to pay taxes.

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Politics

Fed’s Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation

Published

15 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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<div>Fed's Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation</div>

As digital assets gain mainstream adoption, establishing a legal framework for stablecoins is a “good idea,” said US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

In an April 16 panel at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell commented on the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry, which has delivered a consumer use case that “could have wide appeal” following a difficult “wave of failures and frauds,” he said.

Fed's Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation

Powell delivers remarks at the Economic Club of Chicago. Source: Bloomberg Television

During crypto’s difficult years, which culminated in 2022 and 2023 with several high-profile business failures, the Fed “worked with Congress to try to get a […] legal framework for stablecoins, which would have been a nice place to start,” said Powell. “We were not successful.”

“I think that the climate is changing and you’re moving into more mainstreaming of that whole sector, so Congress is again looking […] at a legal framework for stablecoins,” he said.

“Depending on what’s in it, that’s a good idea. We need that. There isn’t one now,” said Powell.

This isn’t the first time Powell acknowledged the need for stablecoin legislation. In June 2023, the Fed boss told the House Financial Services Committee that stablecoins were “a form of money” that requires “robust” federal oversight.

Support for stablecoin legislation is growing

The election of US President Donald Trump has ushered in a new era of pro-crypto appointments and policy shifts that could make America a digital asset superpower.

Washington’s formal embrace of cryptocurrency began earlier this year when Trump established the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, with Bo Hines as the executive director.

Hines told a digital asset summit in New York last month that a comprehensive stablecoin bill was a top priority for the current administration. After the Senate Banking Committee passed the GENIUS Act, a final stablecoin bill could arrive at the president’s desk “in the next two months,” said Hines.

Bo Hines (right) speaks of “imminent” stablecoin legislation at the Digital Asset Summit on March 18. Source: Cointelegraph

Stablecoins pegged to the US dollar are by far the most popular tokens used for remittances and cryptocurrency trading.

The combined value of all stablecoins is currently $227 billion, according to RWA.xyz. The dollar-pegged USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT) account for more than 88% of the total market.

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