Former prime minister Theresa May to stand down as MP at next general election

Published

1 year ago

March 8, 2024

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Former prime minister Theresa May has announced she will stand down as an MP at the next general election.

In an exclusive statement to her local paper, Mrs May said she had taken the “difficult decision” to quit the Commons after 27 years representing her Maidenhead constituency.

The 67-year-old also pledged her support to Rishi Sunak’s government and said she believed the Conservatives could win the next election.

Politics latest: ‘Pretty good innings’: Minister pays tribute to May as former PM joins Tory exodus

Elected seven times, Mrs May had been the Conservative MP for the Berkshire seat since 1997.

She served as prime minister from 2016 to 2019, having previously held the position of home secretary since 2010.

Mrs May entered Downing Street after David Cameron resigned after the country voted to leave the European Union – something he campaigned against.

However, the fateful choice of the “new Iron Lady” to call a snap election and the Brexit chaos that followed saw her forced out of the job three years later.

Mrs May’s decision to leave Westminster adds to an exodus that has seen more than 60 Tory MPs say they will not fight their seats at the next election – the highest total since 1997.

High profile MPs who have said they will quit include former cabinet ministers Ben Wallace, Sajid Javid, Dominic Raab and Kwasi Kwarteng.

In a statement to the Maidenhead Advertiser, the Conservative politician, a vicar’s daughter known for her fashionable footwear, said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve everyone in the Maidenhead constituency as the Member of Parliament for the last 27 years.

“Being an MP is about service to one’s constituents and I have always done my best to ensure that I respond to the needs of local people and the local area.

“Since stepping down as prime minister I have enjoyed being a backbencher again and having more time to work for my constituents and champion causes close to my heart including most recently launching a Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.

“These causes have been taking an increasing amount of my time.

“Because of this, after much careful thought and consideration, I have realised that, looking ahead, I would no longer be able to do my job as an MP in the way I believe is right and my constituents deserve.

“I have therefore taken the difficult decision to stand down at the next general election.”

She added: “I will continue to work hard for all my constituents until the general election.

“As I pass the baton on I will be working with my successor to secure a Conservative victory in Maidenhead. I remain committed to supporting Rishi Sunak and the government and believe that the Conservatives can win the election.

“I would like to thank all those who chose me to represent them as their member of parliament.

“I have always said there is no greater privilege than being an MP; I have served as home secretary and prime minister but none of that would have been possible without the people of Maidenhead and the constituency which I have been proud to call my home.”

Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said the number of Tories standing down showed there was “no confidence” in Mr Sunak and the Conservatives electoral prospects.

But Treasury minister Gareth Davies denied this was the case, telling Sky News he was “personally sad” to see Mrs May stand down “after a pretty good innings”, but that it was “completely reasonable” for people to decide to leave parliament ahead of an election.

He said: “Each one has made their own decision for personal reasons and I respect every single person’s decision to do so.”

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Mrs May arrived in Downing Street in 2016, after an uncontested leadership election, faced with the task of bringing together party and country after the traumas of the EU referendum.

But her decision to call an early election in the hope of securing the comfortable majority she needed to implement her Brexit plans ended in disaster.

A poorly received manifesto and hastily withdrawn social care policy, which saw her insist “nothing has changed”, coupled with a robotic campaigning style, saw her deprived her of her slim majority in the Commons and dependent on the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

From then on she was engaged in a day-by-day struggle to keep her plans on course and maintain the fragile unity of her government.

That year’s conference in Manchester ended in humiliation as she was handed a P45 by a comedian on stage, lost her voice to a persistent cough and ended her speech with letters falling off the backdrop behind her.

After repeated failed attempts to get her Brexit plans through and with the party in open mutiny, her fate was sealed.

Nicknamed the Maybot, for rarely revealing her emotions, Mrs May fought back tears as she announced her departure from Number 10 in Ma 2019.

With her voice cracking, she said at the time: “I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold – the second female prime minister, but certainly not the last.

“I do so with no ill-will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.”

Unlike many other former prime minister’s, Mrs May remained parliament and active on the backbench, not afraid to criticise the government.

Politics

US senators ask DOJ, Treasury to consider Binance-Trump ties — Report

Published

4 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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US senators ask DOJ, Treasury to consider Binance-Trump ties — Report

A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry.

According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange.

That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down.

However, since Trump won the presidency in 2024, many lawmakers have accused the president of corruption from profiting off crypto while being in a position to influence laws and regulations over the industry.

Trump has launched his own memecoin — which earns the project millions of dollars in transaction fees — and offered the top tokenholders the opportunity to attend an exclusive dinner in Washington, DC. His family-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial also recently announced that an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, MGX, would settle a $2 billion investment in Binance using the platform’s USD1 stablecoin.

“Our concerns about Binance’s compliance obligations are even more pressing given recent reports that the company is using the Trump family’s stablecoin to partner with foreign investment companies,” the senators said in the letter, according to Bloomberg.

Stablecoin bill fails to pass the US Senate

The letter came less than 24 hours after some of the same senators blocked a crucial vote on a bill to regulate stablecoins, named the GENIUS Act. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who reportedly signed the letter and opposed moving forward on the stablecoin bill, suggested the Senate should not be aligned with “facilitat[ing] this kind of corruption” from Trump.

Bessent said the Senate “missed an opportunity” by not passing the stablecoin bill, but did not directly address any of the concerns over Trump’s crypto interests. It’s unclear if or when the chamber could consider another vote on the bill.

In an April 23 report, the nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action said roughly 40% of Trump’s net worth was tied to crypto. The group noted that the GENIUS Act, in its current version, “would not prevent President Trump from using his executive powers to establish a regulatory environment and enforcement agenda that prioritizes his personal enrichment over the broader interests of US stakeholders.”

Amid the concerns with the stablecoin and proposed market structure bills, Zhao reportedly applied for a federal pardon from Trump. Though the former CEO already served four months in prison, a pardon for his felony charge could allow him to get more involved with the crypto industry through a management position.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Politics

Chancellor insists Labour rebels ‘know the welfare system needs reform’ as they push for change

Published

6 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Chancellor insists Labour rebels 'know the welfare system needs reform' as they push for change

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has insisted that rebelling Labour MPs “know the welfare system needs reform” as the government faces a growing backlash over planned cuts.

Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure from Labour MPs, with about 40 in the Red Wall – the party’s traditional heartlands in the north of England – warning the prime minister’s welfare plan is “impossible to support” in its current form.

Dozens have thrown their support behind a letter urging the government to “delay” the proposals, which they blasted as “the biggest attack on the welfare state” since Tory austerity.

Follow live: UK-US trade deal

Ms Reeves on Friday reiterated her plans for reform, insisting that no-one, including Labour MPs and party members, “thinks that the current welfare system created by the Conservative Party is working today”.

She said: “They know that the system needs reform. We do need to reform how the welfare system works if we’re going to grow our economy.”

But, the chancellor added, if the government is going to lift people out of poverty “the focus has got to be on supporting people into work”.

“Of course if you can’t work, the welfare state must always be there for you, and with this government it will be,” she said.

The reforms, announced ahead of Ms Reeves’s spring statement in March, include cuts to Personal Independence Payments (PIP), one of the main types of disability benefit, and a hike in the universal credit standard allowance.

The government has claimed that changes to welfare will cut the budget by £4.8bn overall.

Separately, Downing Street refused on Friday to deny that Ms Reeves has consulted on potentially overhauling their winter fuel payment policy.

Labour’s unpopular decision to means-test the policy has taken the benefit away from millions of pensioners.

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Ministers have faced pressure from their own backbenchers to rethink the policy in the wake of last week’s local election results, which saw Labour lose the Runcorn by-election and control of Doncaster Council to Reform UK.

Asked if the chancellor has discussed the winter fuel payment in private, the prime minister’s spokesperson said they would not give a running commentary.

Pushed again, Number 10 said a “range” of discussions take place in government – which is not a denial.

However, it is worth noting that when reports emerged earlier this week that Downing Street was reviewing the policy, the government strongly pushed back on that suggestion.

Politics

Taiwan lawmaker calls for Bitcoin reserve at national conference

Published

12 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Taiwan lawmaker calls for Bitcoin reserve at national conference

Taiwanese lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has called on the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserves, suggesting it could serve as a hedge against global economic uncertainty.

Ko, a legislator at-large in Taiwan’s legislative body, the Legislative Yuan, took to X on Friday to report that he had advocated Bitcoin (BTC) investment by the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9.

In his remarks, Ko cited Bitcoin’s potential to become a hedge amid global economic risks and urged Taiwan to recognize the cryptocurrency alongside gold and foreign exchange reserves to boost its financial resilience.

Ko’s announcement came shortly after the legislator held talks with Samson Mow, who advocates for Bitcoin adoption by states like El Salvador at his BTC tech firm Jan3.

Taiwan is an export-oriented economy

Ko highlighted that Taiwan is an export-driven economy that has experienced significant fluctuations in its national currency, the New Taiwan dollar, amid global inflation and intensifying geopolitical risks.

“We currently have a gold reserve of 423 metric tons, and our foreign exchange reserves amount to $577 billion, including investments in US Treasury bonds,” the lawmaker stated.

In a scenario of more intense currency volatility or potential regional conflicts, Taiwan may “very likely be unable to ensure the security and liquidity,” Ko continued, adding that Bitcoin could be a great addition to Taiwan’s reserves for several reasons.

Law, Investments, Taiwan, Samson Mow, Policy, Bitcoin Reserve — *Ko Ju-Chun advocated for the adoption of Bitcoin by the Taiwanese government before the Legislative Yuan. Source: Ko Ju-Chun*

“Bitcoin has been operating for over 15 years. It has a fixed total supply, is decentralized, and is resistant to censorship. Many countries are focusing on its hedging attributes. At the same time, in intense situations, it may not face the risk of embargo,” he said.

Bitcoin is not the only solution

Referring to many global initiatives considering Bitcoin adoption as a reserve asset, Ko stressed that he’s not advocating for Bitcoin as the “only solution” to rising economic challenges.

Instead, the legislator suggested adding a “small proportion of Bitcoin” into the diversified assets as tools for sovereign asset allocation and risk hedging, and backup capacity of Taiwan’s financial system.

He previously suggested that Taiwan could allocate a maximum of 5% of its $50 billion reserve to Bitcoin in an X post on May 6.

“When exchange rate risk and regional uncertainty increase, it is time to introduce new tools to construct a more flexible financial strategy framework,” Ko said, adding:

“As former Dean Chen Chong said, Bitcoin is the gun of the digital era. It may also be the gold of the digital era, the silver of the digital era. Or it could be gunpowder. A wise nation will not let weapons be in others’ hands.”

The news comes as Taiwan is emerging as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, with the Financial Supervisory Commission pushing institutional trials of crypto custody services in late 2024.

Mainland China continues to maintain its hostile stance on cryptocurrency after imposing a ban on multiple crypto activities, including mining, in 2021.

Magazine: Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle ’10x bigger’ but will still decisively break above $100K