Posh boy and working-class girl take centre stage as Tory leadership battle hots up
Politicians, we know only too well, are fond of repetition.
With Sir Keir Starmer it’s: “My father was a toolmaker.”
With Sadiq Khan it’s: “Did I ever tell you my dad was a bus driver?”
With Tom Tugendhat it’s: “I was a soldier. I served my country.” No, really, Tom?
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As the “fireside chats” with the four Tory leadership candidates got under way on the conference stage, he must have mentioned his military background at least a dozen times.
“I’ve spent 25 years serving our country in different ways,” he said. “I’ve served on operations in Iraq, in Afghanistan, as you know. And I’ve fought our country’s battles quite literally, personally.”
Stirring stuff! But we did learn some new facts about Major Tom, who eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in his army career.
For instance, who knew that he could change a nappy during a radio interview, for instance? Or that he can mow a lawn in a straight line?
Very useful skills!
When asked about downing pints of beer, he also revealed that he gave up drinking when he became security minister.
Tom Tugendhat. Pic: PA
His three rivals in the battle for the Tory crown – Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick and James Cleverly – all have considerably more experience in government.
But to be fair, when this was put to him by interviewer Christopher Hope, he borrowed a Ronald Reagan gag against his younger presidential opponent in a TV debate in 1984.
“I’m not going to hold against anybody their inexperience in combat or their inexperience in foreign affairs,” said Mr Tugendhat. “I won’t hold against them the areas where they didn’t serve our country and didn’t put their lives on the line.”
That military reference again.
His Q&A included plenty of clearly rehearsed soundbites. But his five priorities were – it must be said – mind-numbingly dull. Number one, for instance, was reform of Tory HQ.
Once again, as he had been by Sky News’ Trevor Phillips, Mr Tugendhat was asked about his posh background. And yet again, he answered by claiming he learned about the country from serving in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kemi Badenoch. Pic: PA
The front-runner?
But when it was Kemi Badenoch’s turn, she claimed – not for the first time – that when she came to the UK from Nigeria working in McDonald’s had made her working class.
“It wasn’t working at McDonald’s that made me working class,” she said this time. “It was an example of how I had become working class…
“Sometimes I was hungry. I was on my own. I had a place to live, but I had to do everything myself at a very young age. If that is not working class, I don’t know what working class is.”
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All four Tory candidates interviewed
She delighted her supporters by comparing herself to Margaret Thatcher, claiming that Maggie, too, was misrepresented over her infamous “no such thing as society” quotation, just as she had been over her “excessive” maternity pay this week.
Not entirely convincing, but she got away with it.
Explained: What are the rules on maternity pay?
Where she was strong, however, was in rejecting calls from her rivals for a shorter leadership contest, so the winner can respond to Rachel Reeves’ Budget on October 30.
The Conservative Party wouldn’t look serious if it did that, she said, and the task was better left to Rishi Sunak, a former chancellor, she added.
Both leadership rivals were asked about the darling of the Tory activists, Boris Johnson. And to please them, both were complimentary about him.
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Mr Tugendhat praised the former prime minister’s record on Ukraine and vaccines and Ms Badenoch spoke of her sadness when she resigned from his government.
Playing to the Boris-adoring gallery, she says she loved him, defended him over the wallpaper controversy and thought he was being unfairly hounded over Partygate.
Must have been reading the newspaper serialisation of his memoirs!
Overall, this was a relaxed and good-humoured performance from the often feisty and combative Ms Badenoch, showing a softer side and even giggling at times. And she ended by declaring: “We have got to save the British pub.”
And with that, while the posh boy and the working-class girl continued their campaigning, the Tory activists in the hall headed for the pub.
Altcoins may see a resurgence in the second quarter of 2025 as regulations for digital assets continue to improve, according to Swiss bank Sygnum.
In its Q2 2025 investment outlook, Sygnum said the space has seen “drastically improved” regulations for crypto use cases, creating the foundations for a strong alt-sector rally for the second quarter. However, it added that “none of the positive developments have been priced in.”
In April, Bitcoin dominance reached a four-year high, signaling that crypto investors are rotating their funds into an asset perceived to be relatively safer.
But Sygnum believes regulatory developments in the US, such as President Donald Trump’s establishment of a Digital Asset Stockpile and advancing stablecoin regulations, could propel broader crypto adoption.
“We expect protocols successful in gaining user traction to outperform and Bitcoin’s dominance to decline,” Sygnum wrote.
Increased focus on economic value ignites competition
Sygnum also said that competition would increase as the market focuses on economic value. Increased competition in a market often results in better products, ultimately benefiting consumers:
“The market’s increased focus on economic value compels greater competition for user growth and revenues, with rising protocols such as Toncoin, Sui, Aptos, Sonic, or Berachain taking different approaches.”
Sygnum added that while high-performance blockchains address limitations of the Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana blockchains, these chains find it challenging to achieve meaningful adoption and fee income.
The report highlighted that some approaches have been more sustainable. These include Berachain’s approach of incentivizing validators to provide liquidity to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, Sonic’s rewarding developers that attract and retain users, and Toncoin’s Telegram affiliation to access one billion users.
Aside from layer-1 chains, Sygnum highlighted that layer-2 networks like Base also have potential. The report pointed out that while the memecoin frenzy on the blockchain pushed its users and revenue to new highs, it made an equally sharp decline after memecoins started losing steam.
Despite this, Sygnum noted that Base remains the layer-2 leader in metrics like daily transactions, throughput and total value locked.
Related: Italy finance minister warns US stablecoins pose bigger threat than tariffs
Memecoins still a leading crypto narrative in Q1
Despite recent price declines, memecoins remained a dominant crypto narrative in Q1 2025. A CoinGecko report recently highlighted that memecoins remained dominant as a crypto narrative in the first quarter of 2025. The crypto data company said memecoins had 27.1% of global investor interest, second only to artificial intelligence tokens, which had 35.7%.
While retail investors are still busy with memecoins, institutions have a different approach. Asset manager Bitwise reported on April 14 that publicly traded firms are stacking up on Bitcoin. At least twelve public companies purchased Bitcoin for the first time in Q1 2025, pushing public firm holdings to $57 billion.
Magazine: Uni students crypto ‘grooming’ scandal, 67K scammed by fake women: Asia Express
It was perhaps not quite how officials, in London at least, had envisaged the announcement of the state visit would be made.
In the Oval Office, Donald Trump revealed the news in his own way.
“I was invited by the King and the great country. They are going to do a second fest – that’s what it is. It is beautiful,” he said during an impromptu Oval Office moment.
The question was, did this “fest” – which Mr Trump suggested could happen in September – amount to the much hyped second state visit for the American president?
Or was this actually just the smaller visit that had been offered two months ago as an initial bilateral visit at which the state visit would be discussed?
Back in February, Sir Keir Starmer presented the president with a letter from King Charles and the offer of a state visit.
The letter proposed an initial meeting between the King and the president to discuss details of the state visit at either Dumfries House or Balmoral, both in Scotland, close to Mr Trump’s golf clubs.
The King wrote: “Quite apart from this presenting an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest, it would also offer a valuable chance to plan a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom… As you will know this is unprecedented by a US president. That is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options for location and programme content.”
As he revealed the news of his “fest” with his “friend Charles”, Mr Trump said: “I think they are setting a date for September…”
Sources have since confirmed to Sky News that it will amount to the full state visit.
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Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: Reuters
‘Even more important’
It’s possible the initial less formal presidential trip may still happen between now and September. Mr Trump is in Europe for the NATO summit in June and is due in Scotland to open a new golf course soon too.
“It is the second time it has happened to one person. The reason is we have two separate terms, and it’s an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William,” the president said.
“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one. The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”
His last state visit in 2019, at the invitation of the late Queen, drew significant protests epitomised by the giant blow-up “Baby Trump” which floated over Parliament Square.
The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
Britain’s trump card
September is a little earlier than had been expected for the visit. It may be an advantage for it to happen sooner rather than later, given the profoundly consequential and controversial nature of the first few months of his second term.
The decision by the British government to play its “state visit trump card” up front back in February drew some criticism.
And since February, Mr Trump’s position on numerous issues has been increasingly at odds with all of America’s allies.
On Ukraine, he has seemingly aligned himself closely with Vladimir Putin. His tariffs have caused a global economic shock. And on issues like Greenland and Canada, a member of the Commonwealth, he has generated significant diplomatic shock.
A risk worth taking
Mr Trump is as divisive among the British public as he is in America. Sir Keir is already walking a political tightrope by choosing the softly softly approach with the White House.
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The UK government chose not to retaliate against Mr Trump’s tariffs, unlike some allies. Sir Keir and his cabinet have been at pains not to be seen to criticise the president in any way as they seek to influence him on Ukraine and seek an elusive economic deal on tariffs.
On that tariff deal, despite some positive language from the US side and offers on the table, there has yet to be a breakthrough. A continuing challenge is engaging with the president for decisions and agreements only he, not his cabinet, will make.
British officials acknowledge the risk the state visit poses. In this presidency, anything could happen between now and September.
But they argue British soft power and Mr Trump’s fondness for the Royal Family and pomp – or a “fest” as he calls it – amount to vital diplomatic clout.
For a special relationship under strain, a special state visit is the tonic.
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