The LibDem Leader of Wiltshire County Council, Ian Thorn, was recently asked by the council to write to the Transport Secretary about funding for the A303. Easy job…
He sent it to Shabana Mahmood by mistake. Something about piss ups and breweries…
The UK’s crypto sector is launching an effort to convince British banks to lift bans on transfers to crypto exchanges. Crypto exchanges are heading for a “firm and proportionate” regulatory framework with rules that come into force next year – banks are not fans of their decentralised rivals…
Crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto UK – supported by the large exchanges like polygon, coinbase, and blockchain.com – has organised a letter-writing campaign to banks to end the “blanket ban.” Their research says 40% of all UK crypto transactions are blocked or restricted by UK banks and 80% of exchanges surveyed reported an increase in blockages over the past year…
All of major British banks block their customers from sending money to crypto exchanges, even ones that are registered with the FCA. Jealous…
Meanwhile banks are all hiring their own digital asset teams internally to build out their own capabilities while they block the exchanges. Crypto exchange Coinbase is concerned – its head of policy in Europe said: “The government has set out a vision to make the UK a global hub for digital assets and Web3. That vision requires retail participation. But the banks are choking off the on-ramp from normal money into crypto at a time when the global race for digital assets is intensifying.” Established players are trying to strangle decentralised finance in the crib…
Tech Secretary Liz Kendall said this afternoon:
“Those who use social media to incite violence and disorder are breaking the law. Next week we will lay in Parliament an update to the Online Safety Act requiring services to take quicker action to remove illegal content circulating during times of crisis.”
Team Burnham is even more keen on regulating information online. Lucy Powell is pushing for direct control over social media algorithms…
He’s promising to announce “new policies to give the self-employed a break“. Watch along above…
UPDATE: Farage announces Reform will raise the VAT threshold to £150,000.
Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terror legislation, has said increased migration has damaged Britain’s national security. Does Starmer think he’s “whipping up division” as well?
Asked on Sky News: “Do you think increased immigration has negatively affected national security?” Hall said:
“Yes, if I’m candid, I do when I’m talking about the the the large waves that have come over. I mean, bear in mind, I’m looking at it from the national security perspective. I’m not trying to speak about the economic impact. I mean I’m not an economist but I mean there is a risk that if people come into the country who you don’t want to come in who’ve got these sorts of traumas who may be connected to foreign states or terrorist organisations or you simply don’t know anything about there’s of course there is there is a risk because those people may not have any allegiance to the UK or may be coming in bringing in um ideology or experiences that that that um aren’t aren’t good to have. So, I think the answer must be yes.”
Hall added: “I suppose there are lots of potential policy solutions to this. Looking at who you want to welcome in and who you want to take extra efforts to try and deter or keep away from. That policy solution area goes way outside my remit.”
He also refuted the suggestion by the Sky News presenter that there was speculation around the Belfast attack as to whether it was a terror incident: “My impression is that the public weren’t really wondering whether or not it was terrorism to any great degree.” He said the public have now priced in non-ideological violence and random killings…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”
