Senior Tory MP Sir Simon Clarke calls on Rishi Sunak to stand down as prime minister
Former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke has called on Rishi Sunak to resign as prime minister.
The Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland said Mr Sunak has gone “from asset to anchor” and the party faces an electoral “massacre” under his leadership.
Politics latest: Reaction to Clarke’s call for PM to go
The MP said the country was “on the brink of being run by Keir Starmer’s Labour for a decade or more” and if Nigel Farage “returns to the fray, as looks increasingly likely, extinction is a very real possibility for our party”.
Sir Simon explained that Mr Sunak was not “solely responsible for our present predicament” but his “uninspiring leadership is the main obstacle to our recovery”.
“The unvarnished truth is that Rishi Sunak is leading the Conservatives into an election where we will be massacred,” he wrote in The Telegraph.
Analysis: Clarke’s attack on Sunak is more kamikaze than mutiny… for now
Sir Simon, who served as housing secretary under Liz Truss, was one of 11 Conservative MPs to vote against Mr Sunak’s Rwanda bill last week after what was mooted to be a sizeable rebellion fizzled out following attempts to toughen up the scheme failed.
His intervention comes amid a number of struggles for the prime minister, including falling approval ratings and unhappiness within his party over the deportation plan for asylum seekers.
Rishi Sunak is lagging well behind Labour in the polls
Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby heard last week that “several” letters of no confidence in Mr Sunak had been submitted to the backbench 1922 Committee of the Conservative Party. A minimum of 53 would need to be sent in to trigger a leadership contest.
Speaking to the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge on Monday, Dame Andrea Jenkyns reiterated she wanted Mr Sunak to stand down.
Sir Simon’s article in The Telegraph added: “I know many MPs are afraid another change of leader would look ridiculous. But what could be more ridiculous than meekly sleepwalking towards an avoidable annihilation because we were not willing to listen to what the public are telling us so clearly?
“A change of leadership would not have to be a protracted affair. As was planned in October 2022, the contest need only take a week.
“Two days of MPs voting, a few more days before an online members’ vote. Which is worse: a week of chaotic headlines in Westminster, or a decade of decline under Keir?”
Sir Simon has also been critical of government policy on housing and wind power.
Sir Simon’s calls were backed by Nadine Dorries, a Boris Johnson loyalist who resigned from the House of Commons last year and who regularly speaks out against Mr Sunak.
Multiple Conservatives quickly rode to the prime minister’s defence.
Former defence and trade secretary Sir Liam Fox said: “This is not the time for self-indulgence and tribalism in the party.
“Those who have an agenda to destabilise the government in an election year should understand the consequences.
“Having been on the front bench for all 13 years in opposition, it is a miserable place. Be warned.”
Sir Simon and Mr Sunak worked together in the Treasury. Pic: Treasury
Former Brexit secretary Sir David Davis said: “This is getting silly.
“The party and the country are sick and tired of MPs putting their own leadership ambitions ahead of the UK’s best interests.
“It is really about time these people realise they have a duty to the country that is greater than their personal leadership ambitions.”
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “At this critical time for our country, with challenges at home and abroad, our party must focus on the people we serve and deliver for the country.
“Engaging in facile and divisive self-indulgence only serves our opponents, it’s time to unite and get on with the job.”
Stalwart of the One Nation wing of the party Damian Green also condemned Sir Simon.
Opposition parties were similarly unimpressed.
Labour’s shadow paymaster general, Jonathan Ashworth, said: “This is a failing, divided government incapable of gripping problems facing the country from the cost of living crisis to state of the NHS.
“More proof that after 14 years it’s time for change. Only Labour has a plan to turn the page and get our future back.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “It is utterly ludicrous that the Conservative Party is even discussing installing a fourth prime minister without even giving voters a say.
“It’s time for Rishi Sunak to… call a general election.”
KuCoin announced an exclusive multiyear deal with Tomorrowland Winter and Tomorrowland Belgium from 2026 to 2028, making the exchange the music festival’s exclusive crypto and payments partner.
The move comes just weeks after KuCoin secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) service provider license in the European Union.
KuCoin’s MiCA play goes mass‑market
KuCoin EU Exchange recently obtained a crypto asset service provider license in Austria under the EU’s MiCA regime, giving it a fully regulated foothold in the bloc as Brussels’ new rulebook for exchanges, custody and stablecoins comes into force.
The Tomorrowland deal signals how KuCoin plans to use that status, not just to run a compliant trading venue, but to plug crypto rails directly into mainstream culture.
KuCoin said the Tomorrowland deal will cover Tomorrowland Winter 2026 in Alpe d’Huez, France, and Tomorrowland Belgium 2026 in Boom, Belgium, with the same arrangement continuing through 2028.
Related: Burning Man-inspired festival in Bali goes full Web3: Here’s how
From sponsorship to payment rails
KuCoin insists this is not just a logo play. A spokesperson at KuCoin told Cointelegraph that as an exclusive payments partner, the exchange is working with Tomorrowland to weave crypto into the festival’s existing payments stack so that “financial tools” sit behind the scenes of ticketing, merch and food and drink.
The stated goal is to keep the rails “intuitive and invisible,” rather than forcing festivalgoers through clunky wallets or unfamiliar flows, with KuCoin positioning itself as facilitating the secure and efficient movement of value while fans focus on the music.
The company declined to spell out exactly which assets and rails will be supported on‑site, or whether every purchase will run natively onchain, but said that KuCoin’s “Trust First. Trade Next.” mantra runs through its messaging.
The spokesperson stressed advanced security, multi‑layer protection and adherence to EU standards as the foundation for taking crypto beyond the trading screen and into live events.
Related: What is Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)?
Learning from FTX’s Tomorrowland flop
Tomorrowland’s organizers have been here before. In 2022, the festival announced a Web3 partnership with FTX Europe that promised NFTs and “the future of music festivals” before collapsing along with the exchange itself months later.
That experience makes the choice of a MiCA‑licensed partner, and the emphasis on user protection, more than cosmetic; it is a second attempt at bridging culture and crypto (this time with regulatory scaffolding and clearer guardrails).
Rather than setting public hard targets for user numbers or payment volumes by 2028, KuCoin is pitching success as “seamless integration” of crypto into the festival experience:
“We aim to demonstrate that digital assets can be a core component of global digital finance, moving from a niche technology to a mainstream utility. “
Related: Spain’s regulator sets out MiCA transition rules for crypto platforms
Screenshots of an internal email outlining plans to wind down Shima Capital have surfaced online, days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued the crypto venture firm and its founder over allegations of investor fraud.
On Nov. 25, the SEC charged Shima Capital Management LLC and its founder, Yida Gao, with making false and misleading statements while raising almost $170 million from investors, the agency announced on Dec. 3.
The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleged that Gao inflated his investment track record in marketing materials used to raise capital for Shima Capital Fund I between 2021 and 2023.
According to the SEC, Gao claimed one prior investment had delivered a 90x return, when the actual return was closer to 2.8x. The regulator also alleged that when discrepancies in the pitch deck were about to be reported publicly, Gao told investors the issues were the result of clerical errors.
SEC alleges $1.9 million undisclosed gain
Separately, the SEC claimed that Gao raised about $11.9 million through a special purpose vehicle tied to BitClout tokens, telling investors that they would be protected by discounted token purchases. While Gao did acquire tokens at a discount, the SEC said he sold them to the SPV at a higher price without disclosing that he personally retained about $1.9 million in profits.
Related: Crypto fundraising sets new record of $3.5B in a single week
In a Wednesday post on X, crypto journalist Kate Irwin shared screenshots of an email allegedly sent by Gao to portfolio founders. In the screenshots, Gao purportedly said he would step down as managing director of Shima Capital and that the fund would undergo an “orderly wind-down.”
The screenshots purportedly show Gao stating that the SEC and Department of Justice actions are related to his personal conduct, not that of Shima Capital’s portfolio companies, and claiming that no fines have been imposed on the company.
The screenshots also show that independent advisers from FTI Consulting and FTI Capital Management would oversee the wind-down process and monetization of investments, while Shima’s finance team would remain in place. Gao allegedly said he would remain involved with portfolio support “as permitted,” but without management control.
Cointelegraph could not independently verify the email. We reached out to Shima Capital and some of the fund’s portfolio companies for confirmation, but had not received responses at the time of publication.
Related: A beginners guide on raising funds using cryptocurrencies
Shima Capital launched with $200 million debut fund
In 2022, Shima Capital announced the launch of its first venture fund, Shima Capital Fund I, raising $200 million to back early-stage blockchain startups. Founded in 2021 by Gao, the firm said the fund received backing from a range of prominent investors, including Dragonfly Capital, Animoca Brands, OKX Blockdream Capital, Republic and Andrew Yang.
Shima Capital has invested in numerous crypto projects, including Humanity Protocol, Berachain, Monad, Pudgy Penguins, Shiba Inu and many others.
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