Ed Davey calls on Starmer and Sunak to make ‘cast iron commitment’ to cross-party talks on social care crisis

Published

1 year ago

March 17, 2024

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Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called for Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer to include a “cast iron commitment” to cross party talks on social care in their election manifestos.

In a speech at the party’s spring conference in York, he said the prime minister and Labour leader should bring their ideas “to the table” as the crisis in care needs a “long term solution” lasting beyond one term in parliament.

Politics Live: Rishi Sunak ‘will lead Tories’ into next election

Sir Ed said: “Like so many big challenges, fixing social care will take a different kind of politics.

“Because it needs a long-term agreement. One that will stand the test of time – and last beyond one parliament and one party’s turn in government.

“That’s why we are calling on all parties to include in their manifestos a cast-iron commitment to finally hold cross-party talks on social care.”

Sir Ed, who is a carer for his disabled teenage son, said finding a solution to care has been “kicked down the road for far too long”, with people facing “catastrophic costs” and forced to sell their own homes “just because they or their loved ones need care”.

In a direct message to his political rivals, he said: “Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer… come to the table. Bring your ideas.

“Let’s finally sort this out.”

In the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto, then-prime minister Boris Johnson said that “nobody needing care should be forced to sell their home to pay for it”.

He later announced plans to cap the costs of social care, but they were delayed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the November 2022 budget.

Both the Conservatives and Labour have been largely quiet on the matter, with the looming general election dominated by issues like the economy, NHS and immigration.

Sir Ed used much of his speech to goad the prime minister into calling an election now, saying the date of the next vote “is the only thing left that Rishi Sunak controls any more”.

“He certainly doesn’t control his party, certainly not his cabinet, certainly not the healthcare crisis or the economy,” he said.

“In fact, the prime minister sounds like he’s given up.”

He agued his party was the only one to offer “transformational change”, while the Tories and Labour were just “tinkering around the edges”.

As well as talking about social care, Sir Ed used his speech to discuss issues the party has been heavily campaigning on like the NHS, sewage in the rivers and the need for electoral reform.

The party leader also touched on what he would do about Brexit – an issue he’s been reluctant to be drawn on in the past.

He said he wants to set the UK “on the path back to the Single Market”.

“Our plan to repair the damage the Conservatives have done and, in time, to restore Britain’s place at the heart of Europe. Where we belong,” he said.

The Lib Dems are hoping to make gains in traditional Conservative strongholds at the election, particularly seeking to win over voters in the South and southwest of England – the so-called “blue wall”.

The party has struggled at general elections since its coalition with the Conservatives in 2010, winning only 11 seats at the last election in 2019.

But it has since gained formerly Tory constituencies across southern England in a series of by-elections, including Chesham and Amersham in Buckinghamshire, Frome in Somerset, Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, and North Shropshire.

Sir Ed’s speech came as the prime minister faced reports that some Conservative MPs are plotting to replace him before the election, and criticism over his handling of the emergence of alleged racist remarks about Labour’s Diane Abbott by major Tory donor Frank Hester.

But earlier cabinet minister Marker Harper dismissed rumours of a mutiny, telling Sky News the prime minister will lead the country into the next election and his decisions “will pay off”.

The election must be held by January 2025 at the latest, but Mr Sunak has said his “working assumption” is that it will happen in the second half of this year.

Politics

Bitcoin adoption in EU limited by ‘fragmented’ regulations — Analysts

Published

5 hours ago

March 29, 2025

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Bitcoin adoption in EU limited by ‘fragmented’ regulations — Analysts

Institutional adoption of Bitcoin in the European Union remains sluggish, even as the United States moves forward with landmark cryptocurrency regulations that seek to establish BTC as a national reserve asset.

More than three weeks after President Donald Trump’s March 7 executive order outlined plans to use cryptocurrency seized in criminal cases to create a federal Bitcoin (BTC) reserve, European companies have largely remained silent on the issue.

The stagnation may stem from Europe’s complex regulatory regime, according to Elisenda Fabrega, general counsel at Brickken, a European real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform.

“European corporate adoption remains limited,” Fabrega told Cointelegraph, adding:

“This hesitation reflects a deeper structural divide, rooted in regulation, institutional signaling and market maturity. Europe has yet to take a definitive stance on Bitcoin as a reserve asset.”

Bitcoin’s economic model favors early adopters, which may pressure more investment firms to consider gaining exposure to BTC. The asset has outperformed most major global assets since Trump’s election despite a recent correction.

Despite Trump’s executive order, only a small number of European companies have publicly disclosed Bitcoin holdings or crypto services. These include French banking giant BNP Paribas, Swiss firm 21Shares AG, VanEck Europe, Malta-based Jacobi Asset Management and Austrian fintech firm Bitpanda.

A recent Bitpanda survey suggests that European financial institutions may be underestimating crypto investor demand by as much as 30%.

Europe’s “fragmented” regulatory landscape lacks clarity

The EU’s slower adoption appears tied to its patchwork of regulations and more conservative investment mandates, analysts at Bitfinex told Cointelegraph. “Europe’s institutional landscape is more fragmented, with regulatory hurdles and conservative investment mandates limiting Bitcoin allocations.”

“Additionally, European pension funds and large asset managers have been slower to adopt Bitcoin exposure due to unclear guidelines and risk aversion,” they added.

Beyond the fragmented regulations, European retail investor appetite and retail participation are generally lower than in the US, according to Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at digital asset investment platform Nexo.

Europe is “generally more conservative in adopting new financial instruments,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:

“This stands in stark contrast to the deep, liquid, and relatively unified US capital market, where the spot Bitcoin ETF rollout was buoyed by strong retail demand and a clear regulatory green light.”

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, launched a Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe on March 25, a development that may boost institutional confidence among European investors.

Magazine: Bitcoiner sex trap extortion? BTS firm’s blockchain disaster: Asia Express

Politics

NAYG lawsuit against Galaxy was ‘lawfare, pure and simple’ — Scaramucci

Published

10 hours ago

March 29, 2025

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<div>NAYG lawsuit against Galaxy was ‘lawfare, pure and simple' — Scaramucci</div>

The New York State Attorney General’s (NAYG) recent legal action against Galaxy Digital over its promotional ties to the now-collapsed cryptocurrency Terra (LUNA) was unfair and an abuse of the legal system, says SkyBridge Capital and founder Anthony Scaramucci.

“It’s LAWFARE, pure and simple due to an obscure but dangerously powerful New York law known as the Martin Act,” Scaramucci said in a March 28 X post.

Martin Law can “open the door for abuse”

“The law has no need to prove intent, creating a low standard of proof that can open the door for abuse like this. It shouldn’t exist,” he said.

New York’s Martin Act is one of the US’s strictest anti-fraud and securities laws, allowing prosecutors the power to pursue financial fraud cases without needing to prove intent. The NAYG alleged that Galaxy Digital violated the Martin Act over its alleged promotion of Terra, with Galaxy Digital agreeing to a $200 million settlement.

According to NAYG documents filed on March 24, Galaxy Digital acquired 18.5 million LUNA tokens at a 30% discount in October 2020, then promoted them before selling them without abiding by disclosure rules.

Scaramucci reiterated that Galaxy CEO Michael Novogratz was under the impression everything he was saying about Luna was true, as he had been deceived by Terraform Labs and its former CEO, Do Kwon.

Law, New York, United States, Terra — *Source:* *Amanda Fischer*

Meanwhile, MoonPay president of enterprise, Keith Grossman, said he had never heard of the Martin Act and had to look it up using AI chatbot ChatGPT.

“It is so broad and essentially is the essence of lawfare,” Grossman said. “Sorry you got caught in the crosshairs of it, Mike,” he added.

The filing alleged that Galaxy helped a “little-known” token, referring to LUNA, increase its market price from $0.31 in October 2020 to $119.18 in April 2022 while “profiting in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Asset manager and investor Anthony Pompliano said he isn’t familiar with the details of the lawsuit but vouched for Novogratz, calling him a “good man” who has devoted a lot of time and money to helping others.

The Terra collapse is one of the crypto industry’s most infamous failures. In March 2024, SEC attorney Devon Staren said in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that Terra was a “house of cards” that collapsed for investors in 2022.

Magazine: Arbitrum co-founder skeptical of move to based and native rollups: Steven Goldfeder

Politics

Elon Musk’s sale of X to xAI just made fraud lawsuit a ‘lot spicer’

Published

18 hours ago

March 29, 2025

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Elon Musk’s sale of X to xAI just made fraud lawsuit a ‘lot spicer’

Billionaire investor Elon Musk has sold his social media platform X to his AI startup xAI, sparking controversy as it coincides with a US judge rejecting his bid to dismiss a lawsuit tied to the social media platform.

The transfer of ownership of X to xAI on March 28 means that the class-action lawsuit against Musk — accusing him of defrauding former Twitter shareholders by delaying the disclosure of his initial investment in the social media platform — has become “a whole lot spicer,” Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran said in a March 28 X post.

Acquisition may open up xAI to more ‘exposure’

On the same day that Musk said “xAI has acquired X in an all-stock transaction,” a US judge reportedly rejected Musk’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Cochran said it has “opened up his AI entity to exposure here too, and it’s a much bigger pie.”

Musk said the deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion, factoring in $12 billion in debt from the $45 billion valuation. He originally bought X, formerly Twitter, for around $44 billion in April 2022.

“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent,” Musk said.

“This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach,” he said, adding:

“This will allow us to build a platform that doesn’t just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress.”

However, Cochran claimed that “Musk used his pumped up xAI stock to pay multiple times over value for X, but still take an $11B loss on the transaction.” He said that Musk is “screwing over xAI investors, and X investors” and was executed to sell user data to xAI.

xAI is best known for its AI chatbot “Grok” which is built into the X platform. When Musk released it in November 2023, he claimed it could outperform OpenAI’s first iteration of ChatGPT in several academic tests.

Musk explained at the time that the motivation behind building Grok is to create AI tools equipped to assist humanity by empowering research and innovation.

While Cochran said that Grok being valued at $80 billion is an “insanely dumb valuation,” crypto developer “Keef” disagrees. Keef said, “This is shady all around, but given the day, Grok is genuinely probably the top model for various tasks.”

Magazine: Arbitrum co-founder skeptical of move to based and native rollups: Steven Goldfeder