According to CoinDesk, the Labour Party won a landslide victory in the UK general election on Thursday (4th), ending the Conservative Party’s 14-year rule. Labour leader Keir Starmer is set to become the new Prime Minister of the UK. While his legislative plans for cryptocurrency regulation remain unclear, the Labour Party has expressed intentions to advance the work on clear tokenization-related laws
Reports indicate that the Labour Party has won more than the 326 House of Commons seats required to form a majority, holding 388 seats. According to the BBC’s forecast, Labour could secure 410 seats, while the Conservatives may only obtain 144 seats. Neither party mentioned the cryptocurrency industry in their pre-election manifestos, with Labour focusing mainly on the economy, security, and national health services
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has conceded defeat and apologized to his supporters. In his concession speech, he stated, “Tonight, the British people have made a sobering decision,” taking responsibility for the Conservative Party’s loss in the election
Cryptocurrency Policy
Due to its long-term governance, the Conservative Party had a clearer stance on cryptocurrencies, expressing the desire to make the UK a cryptocurrency hub and enacting legislation to regulate cryptocurrency activities. The Labour Party, on the other hand, had shown support for the Bank of England’s digital pound project. The Bank of England will decide whether to issue a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) between 2025 and 2026. Prior to this, the UK Parliament will need to approve the corresponding legislation
In January, the Labour Party released a financial services plan that included making the country a center for security tokenization through “advancing the work on clear tokenization-related laws.”
Before the UK general election, members of the cryptocurrency community stated in an interview with CoinDesk that the Labour Party had more work to do, including passing the necessary regulations established by the previous government and strengthening the guidelines for promoting the cryptocurrency industry
