Kemi Badenoch denies supporting local coalitions but says leaders must ‘do what they need to do’
Elected councillors must “do what they need to do” to serve the people, Kemi Badenoch said after she suggested Reform and the Tories could form alliances at a local level.
The Conservative leader said that while she doesn’t actively support council coalitions, she is ultimately leaving the decision to local politicians “because they can’t have a re-election if they don’t have an outright majority”.
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However, she said that at a national level “we’re trying to rebuild trust with the public” and “suddenly saying that we’re rushing to form a pact or merge with another party is not what I was elected to do”.
Ms Badenoch was speaking during a local election visit to Lancashire after earlier comments about local coalitions were attacked by opposition parties.
She has consistently ruled out a pact at a national level with Reform UK, whose leader Nigel Farage has vowed to “destroy” the Tories.
But speaking to BBC Breakfast on Thursday, she suggested the picture could be different at a local level, saying: “I’ve seen Conservatives go into coalition with Labour, with Liberal Democrats, with Independents.
“What I’m telling local leaders across the country (is) they have to do what is right for the people in their local area and they must stick to Conservative principles.”
Nigel Farage has vowed to destroy the Tories. Pic: PA
Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves said it is “crystal clear” that if you vote Reform or Conservative, “you’re opening the door to more of the Tory chaos that held our country back over the past 14 years”.
Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the two parties had “merged in all but name”, adding: “You couldn’t put a cigarette paper between Badenoch and Farage when it comes to their policies. It’s clear the Conservatives have totally abandoned the centre ground.”
Reform meanwhile snubbed the offer, saying they are “not interested in coalitions” and are focused on “taking the fight to Labour and the Conservatives”.
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‘Outrageous’ welfare budget
Ms Badenoch later insisted she is “‘not supporting coalitions at a local level”.
She told reporters: “I am leaving the decision to local leaders because they can’t have a re-election if they don’t have an outright majority.
“And it’s right that they do what they need to do to serve the people of a community. These local elections are not opinion polls.”
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The Tories face an uphill battle at the local elections on 1 May, with polling suggesting the party is yet to recover from its catastrophic general election defeat in July.
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Latest YouGov polling for Sky News’ Sam and Anne’s podcast put Labour marginally in the lead, followed by Reform and then the Tories.
The Lib Dems were fourth but their 17 points was the highest level of support they’ve had since 2017.
The Tories are defending more than half of the seats up for election, having won them in 2021 thanks in part to a Covid-19 vaccine polling bounce.
Votes will take place in 23 of England’s 317 local authorities, and there will also be a by-election in Runcorn following the resignation of Labour’s Mike Amesbury, who last month was given a suspended prison sentence for punching a man.
Senior Tory MP Esther McVey has previously said the Tories should “let Reform win” in Runcorn as part of an electoral pact, but Ms Badenoch today said: “That’s absolutely the wrong thing.”
She added: “We need to make sure that people always have the option to vote Conservative, and that’s the message that I’m taking out for these local government elections on May 1.”
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.
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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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