UK election: Sunak waiting to call vote ‘gives us time to show plan working’, says Cameron
Rishi Sunak is “absolutely right” to hold off calling an election because it gives voters time to see “the plan is working”, the foreign secretary has said.
Lord Cameron told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the prime minister is a “good man, doing a great job at a difficult time” after a bruising set of results at the local elections.
Asked what advice he’d give Mr Sunak to close the 20-point gap in the polls with Labour, the former Tory leader said he’d tell him to “stick to the plan” – pointing to inflation coming down and the economy exiting recession.
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He added: “The longer actually we have between now and the election, the more you’re going to see the plan is working.”
The next election must be held by 28 January 2025.
Mr Sunak has previously said he intends to call it in the second half of this year, but that has not stopped speculation he could go earlier, possibly holding it in the summer.
Lord David Cameron speaks to Sky’s Trevor Phillips
Lord Cameron stressed he is “not in charge of election timing”.
But, he added, Mr Sunak “said the second half of the year and I think that’s absolutely right, because you can see the economic plan is working”.
He claimed Labour is “desperate for the election now because the longer we have between now and the election, the more you’re going to see the plan is working”.
He also insisted Mr Sunak is “definitely” the right person to be leading the party – as he ruled out a possible return to Downing Street to help the Conservatives reverse their electoral fortunes.
Asked about the prospect of going for the top job again, the former prime minister said: “No, no. I am now foreign secretary. I sit in the House of Lords. I’m not in the House of Commons. I’m part of Rishi’s team.
“That is what I’m interested in doing. And that’s what I’m going to do.”
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Election ‘not a foregone conclusion’
If Labour wins the next election, it would end 14 years of Conservative governments under five prime ministers, including Lord Cameron – who stepped down after the UK voted to leave the European Union.
Mr Sunak last week admitted he might not win when the nation goes to the polls, but suggested the UK is on course for a hung parliament. He later insisted the outcome of the election is “not a forgone conclusion”.
Most polls predict Labour is heading for a landslide victory like that secured by Tony Blair in 1997.
In the local elections, Labour won 1,158 seats in the 107 councils in England that held ballots on 2 May, an increase of more than 232.
The Liberal Democrats won 552 seats, up nearly 100, while the Tories came in third place on 515 seats, down nearly 500.
Crypto-friendly billionaire investor Bill Ackman is considering the possibility that US President Donald Trump may pause the implementation of his controversial proposed tariffs on April 7.
“One would have to imagine that President Donald Trump’s phone has been ringing off the hook. The practical reality is that there is insufficient time for him to make deals before the tariffs are scheduled to take effect,” Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said in an April 5 X post.
Trump may postpone tariffs to make more deals, says Ackman
“I would, therefore, not be surprised to wake up Monday with an announcement from the President that he was postponing the implementation of the tariffs to give him time to make deals,” Ackman added.
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries, which took effect on April 5. Harsher reciprocal tariffs on trading partners with which the US has the largest trade deficits are scheduled to kick in on April 9.
Ackman — who famously said “crypto is here to stay” after the FTX collapse in November 2022 — said Trump captured the attention of the world and US trading partners, backing the tariffs as necessary after what he called an “unfair tariff regime” that hurt US workers and economy “over many decades.”
Following Trump’s announcement on April 2, the US stock market shed more value during the April 4 trading session than the entire crypto market is currently worth. The fact that crypto held up better than the US stock market caught the attention of both crypto industry supporters and skeptics.
Source: Cameron Winklevoss
Prominent crypto voices such as BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes and Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss also recently showed their support for Trump’s tariffs.
Related: Trump tariffs squeeze already struggling Bitcoin miners — Braiins exec
Ackman said a pause would be a logical move by Trump — not just to allow time for closing potential deals but also to give companies of all sizes “time to prepare for changes.” He added:
“The risk of not doing so is that the massive increase in uncertainty drives the economy into a recession, potentially a severe one.”
Ackman said April 7 will be “one of the more interesting days” in US economic history.
Magazine: New ‘MemeStrategy’ Bitcoin firm by 9GAG, jailed CEO’s $3.5M bonus: Asia Express
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
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