According to a report by CoinDesk, the Labour Party secured a landslide victory in the UK general election on Thursday, ending the Conservative Party’s 14-year tenure in power. Labour leader Keir Starmer is set to become the new Prime Minister of the UK. While their legislative plans regarding cryptocurrency regulation remain unclear, the Labour Party has previously indicated their intent to advance legislation related to tokenization.
Reportedly, Labour won more than the 326 seats required to secure a majority in the House of Commons, securing a total of 388 seats. According to forecasts by the BBC, Labour is expected to secure around 410 seats, while the Conservative Party is expected to hold only 144 seats. Neither party addressed the cryptocurrency industry in their pre-election manifestos. Labour primarily focused on the economy, security, and the National Health Service.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has conceded defeat and apologized to supporters. In his concession speech, he stated, “Tonight, the British people have made a sobering judgment,” and he took responsibility for the Conservative Party’s loss in the election.
Cryptocurrency Policy:
During their long tenure, the Conservative Party had a clearer stance on cryptocurrency. They expressed a desire to make the UK a center for cryptocurrency and introduced legislation to regulate cryptocurrency as a supervised activity. In contrast, the Labour Party expressed support for the Bank of England’s digital pound project. The Bank of England is expected to decide on issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) between 2025 and 2026, pending parliamentary approval of the necessary legislation.
In January of this year, Labour released a financial services plan that included advancing legislation related to tokenization to establish the country as a hub for security tokenization.
Ahead of the UK general election, members of the cryptocurrency community interviewed by CoinDesk noted that the Labour Party has more work to do, including passing necessary regulations established by previous governments and strengthening guidance on promotional matters related to the cryptocurrency industry.
