The UK general election is set to take place on July 4th local time. The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, is likely to end the Conservative Party's 14-year rule, but the country they inherit is already in a "mess."
This election could change the UK's approach to cryptocurrency and blockchain policies. Polls indicate that the Labour Party, under Keir Starmer, may replace the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
According to a voter intention survey by polling agency Ipsos, the Labour Party has 42% support among British voters, leading the Conservatives (19%) by a significant 23 percentage points. The Reform UK Party, Liberal Democrats, and Green Party have 15%, 11%, and 7% support, respectively.
UK General Election Interest Lags Behind the Euro Cup
The British public is not very enthusiastic about who will take residence at 10 Downing Street, with many feeling that the future won't change much after Sunak leaves.
Xiao Yu, a Chinese resident living in Manchester, says that despite the election being near, she doesn't feel the political atmosphere. "Compared to the election, the British are obviously more concerned about the performance of the national team in the Euro Cup," she says.
Dissatisfaction from Long-term Conservative Rule
Since the then-Conservative leader David Cameron led the party to victory in 2010, the Conservatives have been in power.
However, in recent years, poor governance by Conservative leaders has caused increasing dissatisfaction among the British public, and their support rate has rapidly declined.
In May of this year, the UK's inflation rate fell to 2.3%, only 0.3 percentage points above the Bank of England's target, reaching the lowest level since Sunak became Prime Minister. However, the UK's Independent newspaper pointed out that a decrease in inflation does not mean that the cost of living will return to previous levels, only that the rate of increase is slowing.
Labour Signals Potential Cryptocurrency Affinity
In 2022, Rishi Sunak made cryptocurrency a part of his platform, promising that the UK would embrace this new technology.
Two years later, several bills Sunak promised to pass are still under debate.
As the election nears, these delays have brought uncertainty to the industry. With the election set for July 4th, the Labour Party has a strong chance of winning. However, the Labour Party's stance on cryptocurrency has been ambiguous.
The party has not released any clear directives or taken a definitive position on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
In January of this year, Labour released a financial platform document that did not mention "cryptocurrency" or "blockchain." However, it did include a vision of "embracing securities tokenization and central bank digital currencies."
High Expectations from Voters on Cryptocurrency
According to a survey commissioned by digital asset platform Zumo between June 7th and 11th, about one-third of the 3,124 British adults aged 18 to 34 expressed concern about the country's cryptocurrency future.
A similar proportion of respondents said that UK lawmakers should consider the industry's growth.
This sentiment is partly based on the departure of some crypto-friendly Members of Parliament (MPs) after the election. Lisa Cameron, MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven, and Lesmahagow, who has advocated many pro-cryptocurrency policies, stated in October that she would not run in the election.
As the main candidates in this election, neither Starmer nor Sunak mentioned cryptocurrency or blockchain in the final televised debate on June 26th. However, with polls indicating a likely Labour victory, some cryptocurrency executives are reportedly courting party officials, including Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Shadow City Minister Tulip Siddiq.