Badenoch makes bleak local elections prediction – as Farage mocks ‘comical’ new slogan
“Almost every” council the Conservatives won in 2021 could be lost in this year’s local elections, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has conceded.
Speaking at the launch of her party’s campaign, Ms Badenoch said the votes four years ago followed the COVID vaccine rollout – helping her party to 14 council gains and holding another 49.
Politics live: Badenoch has a dig at Farage
On 1 May, across England, more than 1,600 council seats will be up for re-election, alongside six mayors.
The Tories face being squeezed by Reform on their right, as well as a blend of Liberal Democrats and independents.
Ms Badenoch warned party members: “It will be the first time since the general election, the greatest defeat in all parties’ history, that we fight these seats.”
Map the 2024 election results on to the upcoming council ones, and the Tory leader admitted “we lose almost every single one”.
Kemi Badenoch is not optimistic about her party’s chances. Pic: PA
‘People have lost trust in politics’
Labour are also likely to perform poorly, as local election results tend to reflect public opinion towards the national governing party.
Measures like inheritance tax on farms, benefit cuts, planning reform, reducing winter fuel payments and others could weigh heavily on Sir Keir Starmer’s chances.
It was put to Ms Badenoch that lots of these protest votes look set to go to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Asked about the differences between the Tories and Reform by Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates, Ms Badenoch said: “Loads of other parties just tell people what they think they want to hear.
“We think through and make sure that we are providing a credible plan that can be delivered.
“A lot of people have lost trust in politics because politicians make promises and do deliver.”
Read more:
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Badenoch asked if she’s different to Reform
‘This is not a protest vote’
But the Tory leader acknowledged the party faces “a challenge on the right”, which she said was partly down to its record in government in recent years.
“The protest votes are going to Reform,” she said.
“But at the end of the day, this is not a protest vote – these are local elections.”
The Tory leader instead urged people to vote for who will sort out bin collections, fix potholes and run local services well – which she said would be the Conservatives.
She unveiled the slogan for her party’s campaign as “lower taxes, better services”.
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Mr Farage described that as “comical”, saying the Tories’ track record was of “higher taxes and crumbling services”.
The Reform leader is eyeing big gains in May, and said: “After decades of mismanagement, Conservative councils across the country are buckling under the pressure.”
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Ms Badenoch’s speech was a “desperate attempt to shore up the crumbling Conservative vote as people in the home counties turn to the Liberal Democrats”.
She said her party is focusing on the cost of living, river sewage, and the NHS and social care.
A Californian lawmaker has just added Bitcoin and crypto investor protections to a February-introduced money transmission bill aimed at securing crypto self-custody rights for the US state’s nearly 40 million residents.
California’s Assembly Bill 1052 was introduced as the Money Transmission Act on Feb. 20, 2025, but was amended by Democrat and Banking and Finance Committee chair Avelino Valencia on March 28 to include several Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto-related investor protections.
The amendments cross out “Money Transmission Act,” with the legislation now called “Digital assets.”
“California often sets the national blueprint for policy, and if Bitcoin Rights passes here, it can pass anywhere,” Satoshi Action Fund CEO Dennis Porter said in a March 30 statement.
“Once passed, this legislation will guarantee nearly 40 million Californians the right to self-custody their digital assets without fear of discrimination.”
Source: Satoshi Action Fund
The bill would also deem the use of a digital financial asset as a valid and legal form of payment in private transactions and would prohibit public entities from restricting or taxing digital assets solely based on their use as payment.
The bill would also expand the scope of California’s Political Reform Act of 1974 to prohibit a public official from issuing, sponsoring or promoting a digital asset, security or commodity.
“A public official shall not engage in any transaction or conduct related to a digital asset that creates a conflict of interest with their public duties,” one section of the AB 1052 states.
AB 1052 is now in the “desk process” — meaning the bill has been formally introduced and is awaiting its first reading.
A total of 99 merchants currently accept Bitcoin payments in California, BTC Maps data shows.
Ripple Labs, Solana Labs and Kraken are among the largest crypto firms based in California.
Related: New BITCOIN Act would allow US reserve to exceed 1M
A stablecoin-related bill was also introduced in California on Feb. 2, 2025, which aims to provide more clarity over stablecoin collateral requirements, liquidation processes, redemption and settlement mechanisms requirements and security audits.
Bitcoin-related bills and measures near 100 at the US state level
According to Bitcoin Law, 95 Bitcoin-related bills or measures have been introduced at the state level in 35 states, including 36 Bitcoin reserve bills that are still live.
The Texas Senate passed a Bitcoin strategic reserve bill in a 25-5 vote on March 6, while Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed a Bitcoin Rights bill into law on March 24.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, both of which will initially use cryptocurrency forfeited in government criminal cases.
Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins
Politics
Starmer and Trump discuss ‘productive negotiations’ towards US-UK trade deal, Downing Street says
Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have discussed the “productive negotiations” towards a UK-US “economic prosperity deal”, Downing Street has said.
The two leaders discussed a possible deal in a phone call on Sunday and agreed negotiations will “continue at pace”, according to a statement.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister spoke to president Trump this evening.
“The president opened by wishing His Majesty the King best wishes and good health.
“They discussed the productive negotiations between their respective teams on a UK-US economic prosperity deal, agreeing that these will continue at pace this week.
“Discussing Ukraine, the prime minister updated the president on the productive discussions at the meeting of the Coalition of Willing in Paris this week. The leaders agreed on the need to keep up the collective pressure on Putin.
“They agreed to stay in touch in the coming days.”
Earlier this week, Mr Trump announced a new 25% tariff on all imported cars – threatening UK producers’ largest single export market.
Signing an executive order on Wednesday, Mr Trump said the tax would kick in on 2 April – what he has called “liberation day”.
British manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce stand to be worst affected by the tariffs.
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Trump ‘wants lasting peace in Ukraine’
But the government has signalled it would not retaliate – mirroring its response to the tariffs on steel and aluminium imposed globally by the Trump administration earlier this month.
Tariffs are a key part of Mr Trump’s efforts to reshape global trade relations.
He plans to impose what he calls “reciprocal” taxes on “liberation day” that would match tariffs and sales taxes levied by other nations. The extent of potential tariffs and countries affected remains unclear.
He has already placed a 20% tax on all imports from China.
He also placed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tariff on Canadian energy products in addition to the duties on all steel and aluminium imports, including those from the UK.
The two leaders spoke last Sunday in a “brief call” about the economic prosperity deal, and again nearly three weeks ago ahead of the US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Starmer and Mr Trump appeared to have a warm personal relationship when they met in the Oval Office last month.
But just a day later, the US president along with vice president JD Vance delivered a dressing down to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy – marking a major shift in the US approach to Ukraine and cementing Mr Starmer’s position as a bridge between Europe and the US in the peace talks.
Mr Starmer and Mr Trump also spoke twice before they met in person.
The government plans to change the law so it can overrule Sentencing Council guidelines following a row over “two-tier justice”, Sky News understands.
The independent Sentencing Council, which sets out sentencing guidance to courts in England and Wales, has been at odds with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood for weeks after it updated its guidance.
It said that from April, a pre-sentence report, the results of which are taken into account when considering a criminal’s sentence, will “usually be necessary” before handing out punishment for someone from an ethnic, cultural or faith minority, alongside other groups such as young adults aged 18 to 25, women and pregnant women.
Conservative shadow justice minister Robert Jenrick called the guidance “two-tier justice” and said there was “blatant bias” against Christians and straight white men, as he said it would make “a custodial sentence less likely for those from an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community”.
Ms Mahmood had called on the Sentencing Council to reverse the guidance, but it refused, which Sir Keir Starmer said he was “disappointed” with, and the justice secretary called “unacceptable”.
Sir Keir Starmer said he was ‘disappointed’ the Sentencing Council will not reverse its guidelines. File pic: Reuters
Before the weekend, Sir Keir said “all options are on the table” over how the government might respond.
But sources have now told Sky News the Ministry of Justice plans to legislate at the “earliest opportunity” to be able to overrule sentencing guidelines.
Ministers could introduce the legislation as early as Monday so they can “push it through parliament”, so the current guidelines can be changed quickly.
Until the law is changed so the government can dismiss the Sentencing Council guidelines, the body can plough ahead with the changes as it is independent of the state.
Read more:
Sentencing Council rejects minister’s call for guidance rethink
What are pre-sentence reports and why the controversy?
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‘Blatant bias against straight, white men’
In reply to Ms Mahmood’s letter calling for a reversal, the Sentencing Council’s chair, Lord Justice William Davis, said on Friday that the reforms reflect evidence of disparities in sentencing outcomes, disadvantages faced within the criminal justice system and complexities in the circumstances of individual offenders.
He said pre-sentence reports allow judges to be “better equipped” to “avoid a difference in outcome based on ethnicity”.
“The cohort of ethnic, cultural and faith minority groups may be a cohort about which judges and magistrates are less well informed,” he added.
Sky News has contacted the Sentencing Council for a comment on the potential law changes.
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