Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Exclusive: After disastrous local elections many Tory MPs have concluded that Badenoch cannot lead them into the next general election I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice “We cannot continue as we are and she [Ms Badenoch] is just not up to the task,” one of the MPs said. The moves come after the Tories lost 15 councils and 674 seats last week in devastating results which put the future of the party at risk Nigel Farage declared his party has now taken the place of the Conservatives as the main opposition to Labour as it won 676 seats and overall control of 10 councils One Conservative MP said: “These results were actually worse than last year’s general election It is understood that a number of Tories have also contacted Robert Jenrick to stand again for the leadership just six months after he failed in his first attempt While some of those plotting were his supporters it is being claimed that the discussions on Ms Badenoch’s future “go beyond the usual suspects” There are claims that former foreign secretary Sir James Cleverly is also positioning himself for a potential leadership contest as a centrist alternative to the right-wing Mr Jenrick Sir James told GB News that Ms Badenoch “knows she has my full support” but said he could “rule nothing out and nothing in” regarding a potential leadership bid should there be a vacancy Critics of Ms Badenoch in the parliamentary party have spoken of their frustration over a lack of a strategy to deal with Reform In particular an attempt to get her support for an anti-Reform attack unit with the help of former allies of Mr Farage from Ukip and the Brexit Party who have joined the Tories fell on deaf ears despite support from grandee Brexiteer Sir Bill Cash One senior backbencher said: “I feel like I have been banging my head against a brick wall trying to find out what the strategy is to take on Farage and Reform noticeably posted on X how all the Tory council candidates in his Newark seat had won on a day which saw hundreds of Tory councillors lose their seats He spent the weekend doing party fundraisers in different parts of the country Pollster Luke Tryl from More in Common suggested that the Tories have 12 months to turn things around But one MP said: “If we give Kemi another year it could be curtains for us MPs are calculating that once safe seats in East Anglia Kent and across the south of England and shires would fall based on last week’s results There are also complaints about her choice of senior staff especially ex-MPs like Rachel MacLean and Therese Coffey “They just don’t seem to understand the trouble we are in,” another MP said However, Tory MPs also are concerned that the updated rules meaning a third of them (currently 41 MPs) are needed to trigger a vote of confidence with letters to the 1922 Committee chair Bob Blackman While MPs are not putting their names on the record calling for Ms Badenoch to go yet the former Tory leader of North Northamptonshire Council called for Ms Badenoch to go following the results saying: “I can’t see how a leader of a party can stay on with such terrible results across the country.” director of the ResPublica think tank and a former adviser to David Cameron He posted on X (Twitter): “Our leadership post the GE has been astoundingly poor. All Badenoch has offered is inertia and inaction. She has allowed Reform to establish bulwarks on her flank that now look unbreachable,” adding, “Regrettably we do need a new leader, and this surely can only be Robert Jenrick. Reform can be challenged, but not under Badenoch. The alternative is doing nothing and becoming nothing.” But Ms Badenoch has made it clear she intends to go nowhere. Ms Badenoch told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg the idea that changing leaders can bring success is wrong, arguing that her party’s current predicament isn’t “going to be fixed after six months”. She added: “This is not about winning elections; this is about fixing our country.” However, Ms Badenoch’s BBC interview appears to have made MPs more anxious. One senior MP said: “She is talking as though we have lots of time to turn things around. We do not. It may even be too late already. “She has left a huge space for Nigel Farage to fill.” Shadow cabinet members are trying to calm nerves, telling Tory MPs not to try to move against Ms Badenoch, arguing she “needs time”. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies govt and politics"},{"score":0.861055,"label":"/law govt and politics/government/parliament"},{"score":0.824588,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/elections/local elections"},{"score":0.817046,"label":"/law Conservative leader’s remarks to BBC suggest she may develop policies that encourage women to have more children People should be having more children rather than the UK relying on immigration to deal with an ageing population The Conservative leader said the UK needed to answer the question of how we “make sure we can deal with [an] ageing society She said it was not the right option to rely on immigration which is “making things worse; it is making us all poorer” Asked during the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme whether she thought people should be having more children But we have to look at the demographics of our country She said trying to “fix” the problem of an ageing population with immigration “had not worked” when governments had tried it in the past Her focus on the birthrate was challenged on the same programme by Justine Greening who said: “I heard Kemi talking about people having more children twice Let’s develop the ones we’ve got in our schools and look at how we can make sure gaps don’t open up in the education system as they already do “There are some really practical questions facing the Conservative party and I think more fundamentally the question of what is the point of the Conservative party now If we can’t find an answer to that I think we shouldn’t assume things won’t continue to get worse.” Badenoch’s position suggests she could develop policy solutions to encourage women to have more children but she has said she wants to come up with honest solutions to long-term problems facing the country Hungary’s rightwing populist government has exempted mothers from income tax The birthrate fell to its lowest level for many decades last year with women in England and Wales having an average of 1.44 children between 2022 and 2023 Only 591,072 babies were born in 2023, fewer than in any year since 1977 and a fall of more than 14,000 on the previous year, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed However, Badenoch has previously suggested that maternity pay has “gone too far” before backtracking on the remarks amid a backlash. In September last year, she said maternity pay is “excessive” and people should exercise “more personal responsibility”. During the leadership contest, she said she was fighting for the principle of the state doing less, as “the answer cannot be let the government help people to have babies”. She subsequently clarified her remarks, saying: “Contrary to what some have said, I clearly said the burden of regulation on businesses had gone too far … of course I believe in maternity pay!” she said there were “things that we have to do to make sure that we make life comfortable for those people who are … starting families” and suggested that some people are scared to start families Badenoch’s position on the birthrate appears to be shared by Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary and her leadership rival, who said last year: “We want to have a higher birthrate as a country. With an ageing society it is critically important. “There are lots of reasons we’re not unique as a country for that. It is across the western world. The things that government can do is improve childcare, and above all housing, because there’s a massive link between how late people eventually settle down and the ability to have kids.” I am trying to imagine Kemi Badenoch in June 1940. “We shall not yet fight on the beaches,” she might have said. “We need a reality check before we commit to fighting on the landing grounds. We will not rush to fight in the fields and in the streets. We are not going to set a random target for fighting in the hills. It’s all very well to promise ‘we shall never surrender’—but we have to consider whether it would mean a drop in our living standards.” “This is not the end,” she might have concluded with a rhetorical flourish. “It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning of a consultation process to assess whether a period of reflection is necessary before scrapping arbitrary woke goals about what it means to ‘win.’”  Unfair? But who’s to say whether the threat to millions from climate change is any less urgent or existential than the threat from Hitler when Churchill made his famous speech? He was trying to inject a sense of crisis and resolve into a nation that had been beguiled into a hopelessly false sense of security by the appeasers who did nothing while claiming that talk of war was irresponsible and unnecessary. It is, thankfully, mostly considered beyond the pale to be an outright climate change denier these days, though such creatures are occasionally to be glimpsed on GB News. But it is deemed entirely acceptable to be in the camp that rubbishes the only agreed framework that Britain has to help prevent the world from heating up in a way that will make our own grandchildren’s lives precarious, and will threaten the lives of many millions of others.  What sticks in the gullet is the small, but growing, tribe of pontificators, politicians and columnists who can be relied on to mock and demolish net zero without suggesting any alternatives. This is just climate denialism in a posh suit. If the best you can do for our grandchildren is shrug your shoulders, history will not be kind.  Meanwhile the Conservative party leader wants to stoke a culture war around how to obstruct the people trying to mitigate it.  If the craft of journalism stands for anything, it stands for the separation of news from comment. And it stands for the ability to use cool detachment to locate reliable evidence and to explain it simply. Sadly, that form of journalism doesn’t appeal to a lot of people now spotting, in net zero, an opportunity to open a new front in the culture wars. It’s, in general, not the fault of the foot soldiers, but the media big cheeses who believe that ideology sells better than humble old facts.  So noise replaces science. The shouters drown out the quietly knowledgeable. Slogans supplant debate. And once again we allow an ignorant populist to dictate the terms of the argument.  What Churchill would have made of it? I don’t think he’d be sitting on his hands.  The Tory leader was speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg after devastating local elections results, which left one pollster warning she only has 12 months to save her party The Tory leader was speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg after devastating local elections results which left one pollster warning she only has 12 months to save her party Kemi Badenoch has admitted that Nigel Farage could become prime minister at the next general election after the Conservatives’ dismal local election results It is my job to make sure he doesn’t become prime minister.” It came as health secretary Wes Streeting conceded that there is “a realignment” in British politics and quipped that deciding who will win between the Tories and Reform is “like Alien vs Predator you don't really want either one to win but one of them will emerge as the main challenger to Labour at the next general election” Speaking on Sky News’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme Mr Streeting said: “I think Reform is definitely a real threat and one that we take seriously “It’s not yet clear whether at the next general election it will be Reform or the Conservatives that are Labour’s main challenges but we’ve got to take that threat seriously I think Reform does deserve more air time and scrutiny of their policies.” Ms Badenoch also insisted that “protest is in the air” and warned that “it will take longer than six months” to rebuild the damaged Tory party However, The Independent has revealed that Tory MPs are already plotting to replace her And her admission came after leading pollster Luke Tryl from More in Common told The Independent that the Conservatives have just 12 months to turn things around Highlighting how the Tories had been badly defeated in the heartland areas like Kent and Lincolnshire he said: “I think they have until next year’s local elections Holyrood elections and Senedd elections to show that they're still relevant.” former Tory cabinet minister Justine Greening said that the results marked a point where the Tories needed to pivot and reinvent themselves She told Ms Kuenssberg: “This version of the Conservative Party, which we have seen over the last decade, which has tried to out Reform Reform is finished and it will need to reinvent itself.” But the only big success story for the Tories in last week’s election new Peterborough and Cambridgeshire mayor Paul Bristow urged Tory plotters to “just stop it” and said individuals in the party needed to “step up” and give Ms Badenoch time He posted on X (Twitter): “Our leadership post the GE has been astoundingly poor All Badenoch has offered is inertia and inaction She has allowed Reform to establish bulwarks on her flank that now look unbreachable,” adding and this surely can only be Robert Jenrick The alternative is doing nothing and becoming nothing.” Mr Jenrick has appeared to have been on manoeuvres with a letter to all candidates which omitted Ms Badenoch’s name and a recording of a speech calling for a deal with Reform against party policy Nigel Farage claimed the Tories will “never recover” and Reform UK has “supplanted” them as the opposition to Labour after his party made sweeping gains in local elections. Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Farage said two-party politics had “died” at a local and national level. “The party that I lead is expanding. As we march on, the Conservatives are in retreat. In my opinion, they will never recover,” the Clacton MP said. Meanwhile, Labour is still in shock from a dreadful set of results, which also saw them replaced in many parts of the country, such as County Durham, by Reform. I was told a story the other day about Kemi Badenoch which I felt did not put her in the best of lights. She turned up for a breakfast meeting with Lord Bamford, the JCB billionaire. Bamford is an engaging guy and an important Tory funder, having, with his brother, handed the party the best part of £10million over the past 20 years. In fact, he’s so much part of the Tory establishment he even helped pay for Boris Johnson’s wedding to Carrie Symonds. You would need a mortgage to pick up that drinks bill. No cash bar there. So, you would have thought that Ms Badenoch would have been all over the good Lord. Instead after a friendly enough 15 minutes of chit chat, she announced she had to go as she had another meeting to attend. I trust she didn’t say it was an important meeting. She was at an ‘’important meeting’’. I’m told the Bamford entourage were unimpressed. And who could blame them? Normally the tittle tattle surrounding political leaders is of little account. That does not apply to Kemi. In order to survive the F-bomb which has just fallen on her and her party from Reform she needs all the help she can get. Financial as well as political. It used to be said by those that know that that she had until the Welsh Senedd elections in May next year (there is a distinct chance the Tories will finish bottom of the poll) before she faced a serious effort to replace her. I think that timeline has shrunk. Friday's results were a disaster at two levels. The sheer scale of the numbers which have switched from Tory to Reform can no longer be shrugged off as simply a demonstration of 14 years of hurt started by David Cameron who failed to see Brexit and when asked what his greatest achievement was said; Gay marriage. Give me break. But even more seriously, what has become blisteringly clear, is that there is no Tory leadership or policies to get behind. I don’t blame Kemi for the result, but the truth is she is not a leader. There is no fire in her belly. Farage is two decades older than her and yet he has spent every waking hour over the last six weeks travelling between Lincoln, Cornwall, Durham and Runcorn. He had story to tell and wanted the voters to hear it. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I am told Kemi likes to devote her weekends to her young family. In politics you are always on and if not, you will be accused of being lazy. That is the word I hear most often in relation to Kemi. Next comes her choice of senior colleagues. Both her Shadow Chancellor and Home Secretary are from the old school and would bring a tear to a glass eye. In this social media world you need firebrands, with compelling one-liners. It’s time she brought in some new faces and bring in people like Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg who has shown more loyalty to Kemi than she has shown to him. She has never picked up the phone to Sir Jacob and said we are desperate to give a sign to voters tempted to defect to Farage that we do have the political expertise within the party to make you feel wanted. Personally, I would contact Nick Timothy, May’s former Chief of Staff. If he’s as clever as his tweets he would be a revelation. Finally, it’s time to make Robert Jenrick her shadow Home Secretary. Despite being defeated for leadership Jenrick has shown nothing but loyalty and has grabbed his shadow role with gusto giving Tories at least one good reason to stay with the party. The turnout at the council elections was abject and come the General Election the numbers will be of a different quantum. However, if Kemi doesn’t start making the weather in a dramatic way this summer, I could see the autumn Tory party conference being a disaster and certainly her last. Softly, softly which is Kemi’s big idea doesn’t work. Take a tip from Farage. Work harder and shout louder, especially about migration, and you may survive. Meanwhile, the Conservatives' leader Kemi Badenoch says "protest is in the air", while Labour's Health Secretary Wes Streeting asks the public for more time as both parties digest big local election losses The Liberal Democrats are the party of "Middle England", their leader Sir Ed Davey says, but Laura questions whether their approach is alienating others in the country Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay says Reform has done well but adds the party isn't built on strong foundations If the idea of Farage in No 10 seemed outlandish in January, the backing of millions of voters this week shows it's not a wild notion, writes Laura Kuenssberg It was an uncomfortable set of local election results for the government England's local election results in the week have shaken up the political landscape Reform UK's gains, which mainly came at the expense of the Conservatives and Labour has undermined the two-party double act that has dominated British politics over the last century It's going to take a while for party leaders to digest and adapt to the results which Reform UK's leader Nigel Farage called "unprecedented" We've been following the start of that process throughout today's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg which has seen interviews with Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf the Conservatives' leader Kemi Badenoch Labour's Health Secretary Wes Streeting The Liberal Democrats' leader Sir Ed Davey and Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay But Reform weren't the only ones blowing their trumpet on today's show. Actor and musician Jeff Goldblum also popped by to chat to Laura about jazz and his role in the film Wicked We're ending our live coverage now but you can read more with these stories: This page was edited by Tinshui Yeung and myself Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingA more competitive unpredictable era of politicspublished at 10:48 British Summer Time 4 May10:48 BST 4 MayHarry FarleyPolitical correspondent Both Wes Streeting for Labour and Kemi Badenoch for the Conservatives were making similar arguments on this morning’s show Streeting said people need to realise the country is facing a “range of crises” that couldn’t be turned around in the nine months since the general election Badenoch said her party was “down but not out” and would take the “slow and steady way” back The problem for both her and the government is they may not have the extra time they want This era of multi-party politics is more competitive and previously loyal voters are more willing to change sides Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingBusy show with guests from five parties – here's a recappublished at 10:32 British Summer Time 4 May10:32 BST 4 MayThis morning’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg was packed with guests from the five main political parties in England Here are some of the key points from the programme: Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingThat's a wrappublished at 10:04 British Summer Time 4 May10:04 BST 4 MayThis week's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg has now finished Stay with us as we bring you a round-up of the key points reactions and analysis on what the guests said Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingWicked is a tonic for 'times of shadowy confusion' Goldblum sayspublished at 09:55 British Summer Time 4 May09:55 BST 4 MayJeff Goldblum starred in the film version of Wicked where he bagged a musical number of his own - let's just say you could call him a sentimental man ahead of the release of the sequel - Wicked: For Good - being released this November Kuenssberg asks Goldblum: “Do you think it’s partly because there are lessons for how the world is now?” He replies: “There are certainly themes in it of misuse of power - the friendship between these women and them finding their heart and their power It is a delightful tonic to times of shadowy confusion of one kind or another.” “What do you mean by shadowy confusion?” Laura clarifies the outer world as it exhibits itself and develops politically and culturally Goldblum also talks about his new jazz album Still Blooming which includes songs with his Wicked co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingJeff Goldblum set to chat about jazz and his role in Wickedpublished at 09:55 British Summer Time 4 May09:55 BST 4 MayIn an interlude away from politics Laura Kuenssberg has also spoken to Jeff Goldblum He'll be chatting with Laura about music and acting especially his role as the Wizard - cast alongside Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande - in last year's hit film Wicked Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform's success not built on strong foundations says Green co-leaderpublished at 09:55 British Summer Time 4 May09:55 BST 4 MayWe're now hearing from Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay He says the party made big strides forward across the country Speaking about Reform UK's success in the local elections he says Reform has done well but its success is not built on strong foundations It remains to be seen whether they will be willing to put in "hard yards" Laura then asks him why the party wasn't able to capitalise on public unhappiness in the way Reform and the Lib Dems have He says this is a time when the Green Party is growing and criticises Labour for removing the winter fuel allowance 'We need to be ready to take the argument to Reform' - Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingWe might see Reform launch legal cases to slow migrationpublished at 09:53 British Summer Time 4 May09:53 BST 4 MayHarry FarleyPolitical correspondent It sounds as if Reform UK are planning legal cases against the government in their newly controlled councils injunctions and planning rules to try to block migrant hotels We could be looking at some tricky (and expensive) court cases if they go ahead with that Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingDavey urges people to combat Reform politicspublished at 09:52 British Summer Time 4 May09:52 BST 4 MayLaura asks Davey if he takes any inspiration from Farage as she says the Reform leader has previously said he’d taken inspiration from the Lib Dems Davey laughs and says he “clearly doesn’t share our values and I don’t share his” He says many people across the country will be worried now that Reform control some councils especially about what Farage says on climate change Davey urges people to try to combat Reform’s politics 'Now we will see what they do' - Ed Davey on Reform's success Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingIs Lib Dems' branding too focused on 'party of Middle England'?published at 09:50 British Summer Time 4 May09:50 BST 4 MayLiberal Democrats leader Ed Davey is now speaking from Dorset After the local election, Davey said the Lib Dems have taken the title of "party of Middle England" from the Conservatives Laura asks if the party is focusing too much on this and leaving out the rest of the country Davey says he believes middle England is England and adds his party got strong results across the country He calls it a massive step forward for the party and says their community-focused politics is making an impact Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingWill there be strikes in public sector?published at 09:40 British Summer Time 4 May09:40 BST 4 MayLaura says there’s an important debate happening about public sector pay and asks Streeting if strikes are a real possibility Streeting urges union members to “wait and see” the pay offer first He says he understands some of the arguments especially those from more junior members of the NHS workforce The health secretary says Labour have resolved previous NHS strikes Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingLabour knew UK facing challenges when they took office - Streetingpublished at 09:35 British Summer Time 4 May09:35 BST 4 MayLaura says that after 10 months in office She asks Streeting if there’s anything he thinks the party should have done differently He says he thinks honesty is the best policy adding that the party knew the country was facing challenges when they came in He says things were worse than they feared in some cases and adds that people should give them time 'I'm asking people to give us time' Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingStreeting ask public to give them more timepublished at 09:33 British Summer Time 4 May09:33 BST 4 MayLabour’s Wes Streeting is up next Laura asks if Labour is prepared to admit that voters just don’t like what they’ve done so far in office Streeting says there’s no doubt some things the party has done haven’t gone down well with voters but adds the reason for their decisions is that the public wouldn’t thank them if they’d left the NHS “rotting” He says people might not be “feeling the change yet” saying people are feeling the difference – including businesses having to pay more national insurance Streeting replies that people want to see results “You don’t turn around a country with the breadth and depth of crisis we inherited in nine months.” He asks the public to give them a bit more time Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform expressing people's frustration says Badenochpublished at 09:27 British Summer Time 4 May09:27 BST 4 MayLaura asks Badenoch what Reform party leader Nigel Farage got right Badenoch says he's expressing the frustration that people are feeling but that's not her job – her job is to come up with solutions Badenoch says the party will be honest with people about how it will fix the country Easy announcements and solutions are not a plan Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingConservatives 'down but we are not out' - Badenochpublished at 09:24 British Summer Time 4 May09:24 BST 4 MayLaura tells the Tory leader that the party's popularity has dropped even more since she took charge Badenoch replies that "protest is in the air" and points out she was not leading the previous government She adds that the Conservatives are "down Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingBadenoch says it takes time for Tories to come backpublished at 09:22 British Summer Time 4 May09:22 BST 4 MayKemi Badenoch is up next Laura asks about the local election results – how can she be sure this rejection of her party isn't permanent Badenoch replies that no party has come back from the kind of defeat the Tories suffered earlier after just one term asking if it's complacent to say it's going to take time and will be tricky Badenoch says we live in politically volatile times but her party will take the slow and steady approach 'We live in politically volatile times' Laura also asks if it's feasible that Nigel Farage could be the next prime minister "Anything is feasible," she says before adding: "but my job is to make sure that he does not become prime minister because he does not have the answers to the problems the country is facing." Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform will use every tool to limit immigration - Yusufpublished at 09:20 British Summer Time 4 May09:20 BST 4 MayLaura asks about comments from Reform UK members that the party will reject migrants in areas they now control Yusuf says the party are "realistic" that the levers of power at the local level "pale in comparison to the levers of power in Westminster" He says Reform UK will use every tool available to them to limit immigration Laura then asks Yusuf about Reform's new mayor Andrea Jenkyns' earlier comments about migrants possibly being housed in tents Yusuf replies: "That's what France does do you think that's unreasonable?" Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingHiring should be 'colour-blind' says Yusufpublished at 09:13 British Summer Time 4 May09:13 BST 4 MayLaura asks Yusuf how much money he think he'll save by cutting waste as well as diversity and inclusion policies He starts by saying he thinks the local election results will be seen as among the most important in British history and bins collected on time at a local level Yusuf says he believes all hiring should be "colour-blind" and that the "best person" should get the job 'All hiring should be merit based and colour-blind' Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform UK chairman uppublished at 09:07 British Summer Time 4 May09:07 BST 4 MayThe show kicks off with the interview with Zia Yusuf The entrepreneur took on the role a week after last year’s general election Yusuf didn’t stand as a candidate in the general election but he donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the party and appeared at campaign events He made an estimated £31 million in 2023 after selling his luxury concierge app His parents came from Sri Lanka to Britain in the 1980s Editorial: Yet another change of leader would only make the Conservative Party’s predicament worse The Conservative Party is at a perilous juncture in its long history. After a disastrous set of elections on Thursday it faces the real and present danger of being eclipsed as one of the two leading parties in an electoral system that can accommodate only two big parties watched helplessly as Nigel Farage ate her party for breakfast The official opposition was nowhere to be seen at the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. That in itself is not unusual. By-elections are often a chance for a “plague on both your houses” protest and the Liberal Democrats have traditionally exploited that sentiment This time it was Reform that delivered the rebuff not just to the government but to both establishment parties More worrying for Ms Badenoch was Reform’s success in local council elections. She and her party spokespeople can explain all they like that these seats were last fought at the Tory high water mark of the vaccine rollout in 2021 but the wholesale transfer of two-thirds of Tory seats to Reform suggests that the parties of the right have passed a crossover point According to the BBC’s estimate of what would have happened if the whole country had voted on Thursday Reform’s share of the vote at 30 per cent was twice that of the Tories on 15 per cent it is not fanciful to think that the Tories could find themselves overtaken at the next general election just as the Liberals were replaced by the Labour Party in the 1920s Some Tories think that they know how to avert this threat. We report that plotting is already underway to replace Ms Badenoch as leader. Senior Tories tell our political editor that they are appealing to Robert Jenrick, whom Ms Badenoch defeated in last year’s leadership election, to challenge her. The Conservative Party’s problems are deep. They are not caused by the leader. On the contrary, she shows signs of understanding the seriousness of the party’s situation and of trying to do some of the right things to fix it. One of the party’s problems is that it appears to be addicted to changing leaders. Another is that it only recently decided that Liz Truss would be a good leader and prime minister. Mr Jenrick is an energetic campaigner, but he is not the answer to the party’s problems. Whatever Ms Badenoch’s weaknesses, he would only substitute new ones of his own – an opportunist and synthetic approach to politics chief among them. Instead, the party needs to calm down and think through carefully how it can survive the unavoidable period of quarantine that it must endure before it can be taken seriously again. It must hope that the passage of time will erase the memory of its chaos and incompetence in government, while it fights off the challenge from Mr Farage and sets out a plan for a better future for the country. That is an extremely difficult task, and it is said with much justification that being leader of the opposition is the hardest job in British politics. We do not pretend to have the answers, except to suggest that the party is nothing if it fails to draw on the tradition of One Nation, pragmatic Conservatism, and if it fails to occupy the centre ground. But we know that trying to change leader now, after she has been in place for less than a year, would be a mistake and would only suggest that the party believes that it deserves to be replaced. govt and politics"},{"score":0.896655,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/political parties"},{"score":0.816875,"label":"/law govt and politics/government/parliament"},{"score":0.700279,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/elections/local elections"},{"score":0.632882,"label":"/law Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country Digital access for organisations. Includes exclusive features and content. See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times. Exclusive: Senior Tories plan to ask Robert Jenrick to make a bid to become Tory leader Senior Tories are already plotting ways to oust Kemi Badenoch after the party’s disastrous local election results The Independent has learnt that discussions were already underway before Thursday’s local elections to find a way to remove her Now senior Tories have told The Independent that they plan to press Robert Jenrick Among the complaints against Ms Badenoch is a lack of vision and policies a failure to score hits in Prime Minister’s Questions and a failure to properly confront the rising Reform Speculation about Mr Jenrick making a leadership push had been rife before the local elections after a recording of him emerging pronouncing on a plan to do a deal with Reform – a move opposed by Ms Badenoch Following that, a letter he sent to all candidates without her name on it also emerged One senior Tory told The Independent: “I am messaging Robert [Jenrick] to get his act together and make a bid to be leader “It is now just a matter of timing,” one MP said “There is no way she can lead us into a general election.” A former ally of Ms Badenoch’s added: “She just does not have it We have a choice of replacing her with Robert or a lot of us switching to Reform.” But an MP who had supported Mr Jenrick last year said: “We cannot just keep changing leaders otherwise we will look stupid with voters.” Also believed to be waiting in the wings is former home secretary and foreign secretary James Cleverly, who has kept a low profile. While poor results had been expected because the Tories won a large number of seats the last time these same seats were contested the scale of the defeat and losses to Reform have shattered party confidence One moment of comfort came from Paul Bristow winning the race to be mayor of Peterborough and Lincolnshire; however, the party was almost wiped out in the council elections there. Meanwhile, severe losses were suffered in Kent, Devon and Shropshire. Worse still, the projected election vote share in areas once strong for the Tories put them in fourth place with 15 per cent behind Reform (30 per cent), Labour (20 per cent) and the Lib Dems on 17 per cent. Standing in the way of another coup is a need for 30 per cent of sitting MPs to trigger a vote of confidence in the leader. But the party’s co-chairman, Nigel Huddleston, insisted that Ms Badenoch should not face a challenge. “Kemi’s position is certainly solid. She’s only been leader for six months and she was out and about right across the country, and I can tell you this – everywhere we went, people wanted to see her more and hear more from her.” Pressed on his use of the word “solid”, Mr Huddleston said: “I say that in a really positive way. She’s very sensible, she’s very honest, she’s very straightforward. “She doesn’t go around telling people what they want to hear. That’s the easy route in politics.” Meanwhile, Ms Badenoch has tried to play down the electoral catastrophe as her party faces the onward march of Reform. In a statement, she said: “These were always going to be a very difficult set of elections coming off the high of 2021, and our historic defeat last year – and so it’s proving. The renewal of our party has only just begun and I’m determined to win back the trust of the public and the seats we’ve lost, in the years to come.” govt and politics"},{"score":0.860378,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/political parties"},{"score":0.840967,"label":"/law govt and politics/government/parliament"},{"score":0.824389,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/elections/local elections"},{"score":0.599435,"label":"/law where the path is hard to discern and a canyon yawns below Yet a party that has given the country leaders from Benjamin Disraeli to Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher cannot be allowed to die on that ledge Kemi Curry Price ’78 works as a physician to restore healing to underserved communities in southern California she trades her stethoscope for DNA databases that help solve cold cases and ensure justice is served through her efforts as a genetic genealogist began her journey into genetic genealogy a decade ago following a lifelong interest in family history Price found herself pondering how this kind of research could be leveraged differently.  Genetic genealogy combines DNA testing with traditional genealogical research methods to identify biological relationships between individuals “Once I taught myself how to identify unknown individuals there was no end to the number of people who wanted my help,” she said was her biggest champion and the source of a connection that would soon point Dr wishing to identify his paternal grandfather he uploaded his DNA to several match sites opting to allow law enforcement access to his DNA matches Price was listed as the contact in GEDmatch leading to a very interesting string of events The friend’s DNA identified him as the distant cousin of an unknown perpetrator of a cold case in New Mexico After conversations with law enforcement officials assigned to the case Price was asked to assist with the investigation thanks to her experience with genetic genealogy.  The task set before her was particularly difficult since she began her research process with only a single DNA match I identified his paternal grandfather’s family pretty quickly and built out the [family] tree,” Dr “He matched the perp at the third cousin level which means [the two shared] great-great-grandparents.” Price had about the case included where and when it took place along with a general description of the perpetrator When comparing the time of the crime with the presumed age of the perpetrator she narrowed the birthdate to the late 1990s which required her to build the family tree back to that era “I wound up with a tree containing 6,500 people,” said Dr “After eliminating sections of the tree that did not match both Robin’s friend and the perpetrator she was able to identify a branch of the family tree that had witnessed significant violence in the home Price’s other career stepped in to help with the search that children who grow up in abusive households can grow up to commit violence on others,” Dr “I contacted the investigator and recommended that one of the surviving sons [be investigated as] the perp.”  Additional research into the family revealed that the youngest son lived a short distance away from the crime scene and his driver’s license photo bore a striking resemblance to a sketch provided by the victim Investigators were able to track down the suspect and intercept a discarded coffee cup for DNA testing “I received a text the day after Christmas in 2019 letting me know there was a DNA match,” said Dr “Best Christmas present ever!” The perpetrator was subsequently prosecuted and convicted; he is now serving time in prison as it was the first cold case in New Mexico to be solved using genetic genealogy genetic genealogy has rapidly grown as a tool in the solving of cold cases who was finally apprehended and convicted more than 40 years after his crimes Five years after playing such a significant role in solving the New Mexico case Price was contacted in January 2024 by the producer of “Bloodline Detectives,” a documentary series that explores the power of genetic genealogy and other forensic technology in bringing justice to unsolved crimes Price enjoys her work as a physician and has found it very rewarding her genetic genealogy research is one of her passions and the unique nature of those tasks keeps her engaged “Each case is different and may require a different approach for one reason or another,” she said the Tory leader was loving the fall of Robert Jenrick’s heroes across the pond Suddenly it all became clear. Why Kemi Badenoch was out and about giving interviews for the second day running looking and sounding as if she wasn’t completely fed up With a smile that could have passed for genuine This wasn’t the Tory leader we had come to know and to whom we had become largely indifferent Kemi had been punching the air as the Canadian election results came in but the personal failure of the country’s Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had not just lost a 20-point lead in a matter of months Hopefully Robert Jenrick would follow suit. It was Honest Bob who had been leading the Tories’ charge to worship at the knee of Poilievre. As recently as last year, he had been writing articles for rightwing publications in praise of the Canadian Conservatives They were the role model for Tories in the UK It’s not often that a plan comes together, so Kemi was determined to enjoy her moment. And all the better that it had come good on Donald Trump’s 100th day in office Most people in the UK didn’t have a good word to say about the US president They didn’t like the way he implicitly condoned whatever Vladimir Putin did Happy to give away parts of Ukraine to the Russians that the Ukrainians were unwilling to concede They didn’t like the way Agent Orange had sent JD Vance to Rome to finish off the pope Francis should have been allowed to die in peace Kemi hadn’t been entirely thrilled about any of this either But she had been a great deal more enthusiastic about the trade war A chance to see Keir Starmer squirm as he sucked up to Trump The UK wasn’t even first in line for a trade deal And whatever happened we were going to have to suck up the same 10% tariffs as the Heard Island penguins just where Kemi wanted it while Labour was in power So, all in all, Tuesday was a good day. God bless The Donald. And God bless the Canadians. Who cared that the UK Tories were heading for a disastrous set of local election results? Certainly not her. Kemi was even up for an interview with the BBC’s Matt Chorley on Radio 5 Live. At her most cheerful when suggesting she would personally deport hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants. Or criminals as she preferred to call them. She had no idea where she was going to deport them to, mind. She wasn’t going to get into details. Maybe just put them on to planes and see where they crashed when they ran out of fuel. Elsewhere in Westminster, little stirred. Almost as if everyone was just marking time before the Thursday elections. Nor was it just Kemi who was trying to manage expectations. Everyone was at it. Despite Reform being narrow favourites to win the Runcorn byelection, Nigel Farage was downplaying his chances. Free daily newsletterOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters Nige will now say almost anything he thinks an audience wants to hear. But he’s deadly serious about winning power, even if he has no idea what to do with it once he has it. So serious that he pulled Richard Tice from a Channel 4 debate on Wednesday night. Voters have a habit of taking an instant dislike to Dicky the moment he opens his mouth. Scrub that. He doesn’t even need to say a word. One look is enough. As for Labour, Starmer was keeping a low profile. His most effective form of campaigning given his current popularity. Busy using the time to think of a way of congratulating The Donald on his achievements in his first 100 days. “You’re great, Mr President. The best. The very best. People are loving you. They only wish you could do more. Have you thought about becoming Pope? You could do Poping. You want me to bend over? Just tell me how far.” It was left to Ellie Reeves to get Labour’s excuses in early. The Tories were making it easy for Reform in Runcorn by not campaigning, she said. Kemi’s smile just got bigger. There were benefits to the Tories being so toxic. Just don’t ask about any possible deals with Farage. Facing catastrophic results at Thursday’s local elections the Tory leader has thrown the kitchen sink at an attempt to win over Reform voters The Tory leader said she “absolutely” would support mass deportations of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants It comes after Tory peer and pollster Lord Hayward predicted a devastating night for his own party at the local elections Voters in 23 local authorities across England will go to the polls on 1 May to choose their new councillors, with mayors also up for election across six regions. It will be the first big electoral test for the parties since last summer’s general election and more than half of the council seats up for grabs are currently held by the Conservatives Lord Hayward said he expects the Tories to lose between 475 and 525 local authority seats While he does not expect the party to see a notable change in overall seat numbers the pollster warned they will fail to take seats in the Midlands and North that he argues “they should have won” These areas will instead see heavy gains for Reform UK he expects Nigel Farage’s party to make significant gains the Tory leader said: “We need to make sure that we remove foreign criminals from our country And we actually put down an amendment that says that we will deport “We have a problem now with immigration being too high I have acknowledged that that happened under the Conservatives' watch And that is something that we are going to fix.” Asked if she would commit to mass deportations of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants Otherwise you're rewarding people for breaking the law.” The Conservatives are attempting to regain control of the narrative on immigration seemingly going even further than Mr Farage who has said he would not support Trump-style mass deportations Mrs Badenoch also told the BBC she thinks that there should be a “statue of Margaret Thatcher outside Parliament”. “There's one that's near the chamber of the House of Commons that's inside, but most people would never see that. I think she's such an iconic figure. It's odd that she isn't there”, she said. “And I remember having this conversation about 15 years ago, long before I became an MP, and the person said, ‘oh, they'd be really worried about the statue being defaced’. “And then what did we see last weekend or two weekends ago? People are defacing every statue of Millicent Fawcett. For goodness sake, I think we need to treat the statues with a bit more respect.” govt and politics"},{"score":0.87859,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/elections/local elections"},{"score":0.872599,"label":"/law govt and politics/government/parliament"},{"score":0.82157,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/political parties"},{"score":0.798171,"label":"/law Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information 2025 at 1:00 AM EDTBookmarkSaveTakeaways NEWSix months after Kemi Badenoch was elected leader of the UK Conservatives the conversation in the party is already turning toward removing her With the Tories expected to lose large numbers of seats across England in local elections on Thursday more than two dozen MPs and officials told Bloomberg that Badenoch — who became leader on Nov 2 — is not the right person to take the them into the next general election due by mid-2029 the party’s lawmakers are increasingly of the view she should be replaced with Robert Jenrick requesting anonymity discussing internal unrest Happy six months anniversary to Kemi Badenoch she today has to watch her party shed councillors at a rate of knots Coming off the back of the ‘Boris bounce’ in 2021 it was always going to be a hard night for her – but even this will be a tough result for her supporters Nigel Farage was on hand to stick the knife into his Tory rival he was asked by Sky’s Jon Craig what was his message to Badenoch I’ll put some money in if you like to keep you there No she’s got an impossible job the Conservative Party is split and what you’ll see tomorrow as the West Country results come in is you’ll see a stack of 2021 Conservative votes will have come to us but also gone to the Liberal Democrats as well – the Conservatives are standing in the middle of the road in terms of their own supporters and getting hit by vehicles coming both ways Already a subscriber? Log in Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3 Already a subscriber? Log in You have a few days to think about your choices Kemi Dessert Bar will be open for another weekend of service as the 12th Ave sweet shop settles into rhythm on Capitol Hill CHS broke the news here in January on the plans from Kelly Miao to bring her creations to Capitol Hill after honing her craft in New York City’s “Instagram Bakery Scene” at a prestigious roster of NYC bakeries I fought really hard to not identify as an Asian inspired bakery But it transformed into just what it is,” Miao told CHS about flavors like black sesame and hojicha balanced by platforms like her basque cheesecake Miao says the dense cakes make the perfect base for flavors from around the world Kemi Dessert Bar is a weekend-only venture with Friday Kemi Dessert Bar is now open at 1828 12th Ave. Learn more at kemidessertbar.com I guess if you share it then it becomes affordable I’d be hard-pressed to find something under $5 on Capitol Hill Maybe there’s a place or two that still will do a latte for $4.50 Reply + SUBSCRIBE TO CHS: Support journalism dedicated to your neighborhood. SUBSCRIBE HERE TODAY Got a tip? E-mail CHS — [email protected] — Call or text (206) 399-5959 — About CHS Join the Capitol Hill Seattle Facebook Group 🗣️ Let’s talk about the neighborhood TRAFFIC CAMS Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives could also be hit by losses Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: A popular Netflix series is causing a stir in the United Kingdom over what should be the proper driving force behind policy change: politicians or pop culture Last week, BBC Breakfast hosts accused Kemi Badenoch, a member of Parliament, of being culturally out of touch for not watching the four-part Netflix series Adolescence. The show, which has become the biggest-ever U.K. Netflix drama, depicts the fictional story of a 13-year-old boy who is accused of stabbing a female classmate to death the show presents potential factors driving his murderous rage from parental role modeling to cyberbullying and online incel culture The popularity of the drama has helped catapult the themes of toxic masculinity and smartphone use in schools into the cultural spotlight Since the release, the show's writer, Jack Thorne, has pushed for the series to be shown in Parliament and across schools to spark "radical action" to tackle issues addressed in Adolescence, a sentiment shared by Prime Minister Keir Starmer arguing that only "one in 10 schools are smartphone-free" despite that "evidence already shows that schools that ban phones get better results."  Given Badenoch's strong position on adolescent smartphone use it was understandable that the BBC Breakfast interviewers would want to connect her policy agenda to the megapopular Netflix drama During the interview, however, Badenoch explained that she did not plan on watching Adolescence because she had already researched the issues and did not think the fictional show would be a valuable use of her time Tensions rose when BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty pushed back and asserted that the show "has made much more of an impact than any politician." Munchetty wanted to know why Badenoch wouldn't want to know "straight from the horse's mouth" what parents are saying about smartphone use The heated exchange left little room for nuance and assumed that adolescent smartphone use is undoubtedly harmful to children. However, the studies around smartphone ownership are a lot more mixed While some kids may find their anxiety and/or depression symptoms exacerbated by smartphone or social media use other kids may experience an increase in well-being with smartphone ownership The data paint a complex picture with no simple answer leaders like Badenoch are battling it out over one-size-fits-all approaches that won't necessarily improve children's well-being a balance between politicians' agendas and cultural concerns is necessary to lead a country at least Badenoch takes her job as a member of Parliament seriously and isn't just sitting at home bingeing Netflix Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" LONDON — Swathes of the British public took their first proper look at the Conservative Party under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership on Thursday night After crashing to its worst-ever defeat in the last year’s general election the Tories have now suffered another electoral battering The party was squeezed from left and right in the latest round of local elections wiped out in areas where they reigned supreme just four years ago It puts them well behind Nigel Farage’s populist right-wing Reform UK in key areas across the country Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) officials spent Friday surveying the wreckage of yet another failed electoral campaign The party came a distant third in a key by-election as Reform gained their fifth member of parliament Badenoch’s party — in national government less than a year ago — also lost hundreds of councillors across the country The Tories performed at the lower end of expectations from pollsters The BBC’s projected national vote share for the Conservatives was a scarcely-believable 15 percent — behind Reform (30) it would upend a century of British politics Not only did Reform pick up votes in traditional working-class Labour stronghold but it also ripped through Tory shires in true blue areas like Kent and Hertfordshire a clear two fingers to the Labour-Tory duopoly There were a few bright spots for the Tories — winning the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral race over Labour — but even Badenoch was quick to say on Friday that it was a “very difficult set of elections.” Conservative MPs were already expecting a terrible night The Tories have been consistently polling below both Reform and Labour over the past few months The party also had the most to lose Thursday with the 1,641 seats up for grabs last contested during a bounce in popularity for Boris Johnson back in 2021 Yet the brutal and widespread nature of the results has sent shockwaves through the Tory ranks — and left them openly questioning Badenoch’s comeback strategy “It’s all pretty dire for [Badenoch] frankly,” one Conservative grandee granted anonymity like others in this piece to speak frankly “People are not really sure what she stands for and that’s the problem.” Badenoch’s allies point out that the public are still angry with the Conservative Party after its 14 years in power which ended with soaring migration numbers economic calamity and endless political psychodrama One Tory official said: “It’s no surprise that less than a year after we have more to do to prove to voters that our party is changing under new leadership.” many in the party fear that the Tory hole could get deeper still A recent YouGov poll found a quarter of those who voted for the Conservatives under their last leader Rishi Sunak in the 2024 general election prefer Farage to Badenoch Reform insiders believe one of the few things stopping some of these voters from switching to their side is concern that the operation around Farage may not be altogether serious It is for this reason that Farage brought in Zia Yusuf in a bid to imbue the party machinery with more professionalism is that it embeds us,” Farage told Sky News on Friday morning “We now are the opposition party in the United Kingdom to the Labour Party.” Farage laughed away yet more questions about a Conservative-Reform pact something Badenoch swears she won’t sanction with the Reform leader suggesting such a set-up would only hold him back founder of the polling and consulting firm Merlin Strategy said the results so far “indicate that the Conservatives still have further to fall.” She said results in Staffordshire and Lincolnshire where Reform won control of county councils show the Conservatives’ voter base has shrunk even more since the disastrous 2024 election one-in-four Conservative 2024 voters think that Reform is doing a better job of holding the government to account,” Maguire said “That number will increase and we will see more Conservative voters switching to Farage if they think he is their best chance of defeating [Prime Minister Keir] Starmer.” One Conservative strategist said “things can definitely get worse” for their party and that Badenoch is “slipping into irrelevance.” “We will lose volunteers to Reform now,” they predicted “[Badenoch and her shadow Cabinet] need much more energy they’re slow to get on issues … and it’s run as a think tank — lots of speeches about principles.” A Conservative aide also complained Badenoch was focusing too much on trying to come up with a policy platform a full four years before the next general election “The policy renewal plan is just not a priority for people in the wider party right now but that’s what the leader’s office is most concerned with” they said Badenoch’s allies in the Cabinet say the party will eventually get a fair hearing from the public after a little more time in the wilderness and that she will continue to detoxify the brand name in the meantime Her next big test will be 2026’s set of crucial local elections which will include voting for the devolved Welsh parliament where Reform are tipped to perform very strongly “If Badenoch’s not showing improved performance in 2026 I think she’s got problems,” the Tory grandee quoted above said “She needs to get control of the party deliver a coherent message and tell it like it is.” It’s not just the Farage surge on the right: Badenoch also faces a buoyant Liberal Democrats to her left Once famed for their anti-Brexit credentials the centrist Lib Dems have reinvented themselves as a catch-all party with a fierce focus on Conservative seats in their more affluent socially liberal southern heartlands.  After using this strategy to great effect in last year’s election they did so again Thursday winning control of several county councils and bagging hundreds of new council seats Some in the party are concerned that chasing Farage only opens more space for the Lib Dems on their other flank “Kemi is chasing Reform too much — you can’t out-reform Reform,” one former Tory cabinet minister said.”We have to worry about Labour and the Lib Dems.”  Unless the Tories can start to make inroads in either direction The pro-MAGA outlet and its contemporaries are an awkward match for stolid center-left ministers like those in Britain Local elections pose a steep test for the Conservative leadership of Kemi Badenoch despite wide disapproval of the Labour government Donald Trump’s peace proposal involves a potential lifting of sanctions and informal U.S recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea Topflight football clubs have been aggressively lobbying to get a new regulator watered down — as ministers insist it will be “light touch.” When Nigerian American Kemi Olugemo ’97 moved across the world 20 years ago the mentors she found at UMass Lowell launched her on a path to success in this country I moved across continents to UMass Lowell to pursue the American Dream,” says Olugemo “Several faculty members inspired and believed in me through the years Mary Kramer and Kay Doyle all left an indelible mark on me.” who was recently appointed chief medical officer at Korro Bio has over a decade of industry experience focused on clinical development and regulatory strategy She previously served as vice president and therapeutic head of neurology global clinical development at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical where she led teams in developing lifechanging medicines for patients with rare neurological diseases she launched the nonprofit Zebulon Foundation Inc to identify and close critical health care gaps in Nigeria and other West African countries including Women of Color in Pharma; Clinics IV Life; the Physician Research Council for Circuit Clinical; and Leadership Council of CNS Summit who received a UMass Lowell University Alumni Award in 2023 completed her medical training and neurology residency at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and an additional fellowship in neuroimmunology and multiple sclerosis at the Maryland Center for MS Excellence Her biggest lesson since first stepping on campus in 1994 “Learn from failure and recognize that you truly have the power to shape your future,” she says “Find both mentors and sponsors and always send the elevator back down to help as many people as you can.” Terms of Use and Privacy Policy For an optimum web experience we recommend the latest version of Firefox, Chrome, Edge, or Safari. Please use one of the links below to install a supported browser. But there was also a certain electricity: a sense that the nightmare was over and a new beginning was taking shape. Four months later, it came to a fizzy head when Badenoch, 45, was elected party leader, beating rival Robert Jenrick, whose wife, the high-powered lawyer Michal Berkner, pursed her lips in the face of defeat. From A-list neighbours to aristocratic drama, the new reality show set in the Cotswolds promises glamour, gossip, and a glimpse behind the hedges of England’s poshest postcode. Here’s who’s involved and what to expect and Kemi might unite the party and bring us to power,’ said Alex Burghart the shadow Northern Ireland secretary and Badenoch’s bosom friend A senior Tory and long-term ally gushed with equal enthusiasm: ‘She has sweep of vision; she is the single most impressive person in the party Kemi’s rise to this position feels right.’ Prime Minister Thatcher gives her closing speech at the Conservative Party Conference following the IRA bombing of a Brighton hotel because she is known to admire and long to be like Margaret Thatcher Not right simply because of the widely made observation that she is the first black woman to lead a major Western party As a friend says: ‘Kemi is allergic to making her leadership about gender and race.’ And she doesn’t hesitate to make those – or any – views known It doesn’t take much for her to go into confrontation mode She’s a playful tiger – claws in or claws out As she marks her 31st birthday, Tatler celebrates the Saudi Arabian architect who married Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and investigates her many links to the Princess of Wales But by far the most important Tory party member vote she has ever won was that of Hamish Badenoch a banker who fell in love with her after they became friends during the unsuccessful campaign she ran in 2010 to win Dulwich and West Norwood for the Tories; he leafletted for her with romantic determination and his happy embrace of her dominance and hard power indeed: she sacked him from the list of prospective Tory contenders when she became vice-chair for candidates; she wanted no hint of backscratching ‘She wears the trousers,’ said a friend of the pair With fellow Tory leadership hopefuls James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick at the Conservative Party Conference He's Time's Person of the Year and the next President of the United States. She is a former small-time Slovenian fashion model who rose to wear the mantle of First Lady. On the eve of the US presidential election back in 2020, friends, DC insiders and Melania herself gave Ben Judah the inside track… So, we know she has a good marriage, close associates and three children. But who is she socially? Who is her set? What is her milieu, where does she like to go and be seen? It is amazingly difficult to get an answer. Nobody, from close friends to Westminster scenesters The closest thing she has to a set is her cohort of MPs elected in 2017 – including Alex Burghart and Lee Rowley who ran her leadership campaign – and Laura Trott muses over the riddle of Badenoch in society But she doesn’t seek it out.’ Would she go to the Carlton Club Meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2022 which Badenoch called ‘the honour of my life’ ‘I don’t think she’s a massive 5 Hertford Street person either.’ (And that despite 5HS’s reputation as a haunt for fellow Brexiteers She grew up in London while her father served as Governor of the Bank of England, and now she's following in his footsteps at Harvard – could First Daughter of Canada Cleo Carney be a political powerhouse in the making? Badenoch grew up a world away from the wellies and Aga that greet visitors to the Saffron Walden home and the urbane interior of her Wimbledon house Born Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke in England to Nigerian parents (a doctor and an academic) But she was entitled to a British passport – and so after Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth in 1995 amid a general implosion of the economy and the state and to finish school at a sixth form college Phoenix College made a change from her boarding school north of Lagos where the pupils were expected to cut the grass with machetes It’s not Greats at Oxford but it might have been more useful an ally of hers was clear that ‘intellectually She reads widely and the number of Conservative MPs that do that are scant.’ Hamish and Kemi Badenoch and the Duke of Richmond at Buckingham Palace for the state banquet in honour of the Emir of Qatar, December 2024 Fraser Nelson, who hired her at The Spectator for her short stint as digital director from 2015-16, has seen her rise all the way. ‘The Spectator had a tiny team, so when we were looking for a digital chief, it was to run a team of two,’ he recalled. ‘Andrew Neil and I saw Kemi when she came in to interview for that job. We were amazed that someone of her calibre was applying. The Spectator is massive in terms of journalistic influence [but we’re not a bank and] our salaries reflect that. We couldn’t quite believe she was interested. It ended up in a reverse interview – we were trying to convince her.’ Kemi Badenoch is congratulated by her husband Hamish Badenoch after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest on November 2, 2024 in London, England In the year following the death of her husband, Thomas Kingston, Lady Gabriella Windsor has made her slow return to public life with both diligence and grace. As she celebrates her 44th birthday, Tatler recounts the year that shook the royal family and served as a reminder that ‘we are all each other’s light’ Yet even her critics agree that Badenoch is special: the genuine political article fired by an authenticity we haven’t seen in decades But her challenges are numerous – and nobody I talked to was willing to bet on her actually winning a general election What seems refreshing to jaded insiders and party members might seem stroppy and arrogant to voters ‘She’s not dreary,’ as Madeline Grant of The Telegraph observes ‘One part of the appeal is that people are interested in her MPs will tell you it’s a bit of a gamble with Kemi – she can be brilliant Badenoch might be a roll of the dice for the Conservative Party But if the alternative is a contender who struggles to get noticed – like her leadership rivals Robert Jenrick and James Cleverly – then Kemi is the only real choice This feature on Kemi Badenoch was first published in the February 2025 issue of Tatler and remains unedited. Hard to know if her leadership is sheer ineptitude or an act of artistic expression It’s intriguing to watch the Conservative party treating next month’s local elections in England like a movie in which it has a secret cameo Please don’t spoil the surprise for the fans But yes – it turns out it is actually in this film For all of Labour’s many upsets since it came to power it doesn’t feel as though a single one has been skilfully turned in the Tories’ favour very bad – so bad that you can’t even be bothered to come up with anything other than a will-this-do nickname for her instead repeatedly promising the “biggest policy renewal programme in 50 years” Given what minuscule amount has actually emerged I’m afraid my ears can now only rearrange that declaration into “I will come up with some policies in about 50 years” going on to effectively list several examples of ways the Tories could do deals with Reform at local level According to Kemi: “When someone says they want to destroy you you don’t invite them into your house and ask to do a deal.” But also you sometimes do because: “You don’t get to have a rerun of an election at a local level.” Do you get to have reruns of elections at a national level away from her safe space – minor culture-war skirmishes and posting on X – Badenoch tends to come off as incredibly poorly prepared given to relying on a set of about four assumptions in the absence of that preparation and consequently can only be regarded as terminally out of her depth This may well be the conclusion of various donors, with a Times story on Thursday ascribing a drop in donations to the Conservatives to concerns over her leadership It certainly features some eye-catching quotes from big donors “It’s a bit like a new Tesla,” decided one “Do you really want to put your money in it until you see if it’s actually going to get to the end of the road?” Tesla If there’s one stock that the Tory leader would prefer not to be equated with right now our anonymous friend may well have alighted upon it that flight of fancy was a lot more appealing than another big Tory donor who confirmed the withholding of funds from the Badenoch-led iteration of the party by explaining affectlessly: “My lot are waiting for evidence that their money will actually buy influence.” I suppose it’s quite bracing to hear people talking openly about the purchase of political influence even if they won’t put their name to it (yet) All of which suggests we might as well brace for another summer of Conservative attempts to blood-let very little is starting to suggest the onset of long balmy days like the unmistakable desire to throw open the windows The opposition leader was adamant the PM should eat humble pie but he wasn’t having it You could see this one coming from a long way off On the day after the International Monetary Fund lowered its growth forecast for the UK by 0.5% On the day when it was announced that UK government borrowing was £15bn more than expected On the day when the US wandered out of the latest efforts to end the war in Ukraine Yup, you’ve guessed it. Kemi Badenoch wasn’t interested in any of this Who really cares if the economy is in trouble or that the world is in crisis Instead the leader of the opposition devoted all six of her questions to stoking a culture war be in possession of a penis in a public toilet Kemi had been so desperate to have her say on Tuesday that she had insisted on personally answering Bridget Phillipson’s statement on last week’s supreme court’s ruling on the definition of a woman You’d have thought Kemi would then have had a chance to say everything she wanted to say Would have purged her soul and attempted to move on But her worldview is shaped by this culture war Everything is refracted through the prism of biological sex It’s not enough for her that the supreme court has decided in her favour She will not rest until her opponents have had their noses ground in the dirt There has to have been some suffering to make the fight worthwhile To be fair, the leader of the opposition wasn’t entirely wrong. Starmer has been on quite the journey on trans rights and his current position is totally at odds with what he was saying a few years ago. From trans rights to gender critical. Though you get the feeling his previous statements in favour of trans rights were more to keep the Labour party sweet. It would obviously have been a lot easier if Keir had made an apology. Given an interview in which he explained how he had come to change his mind. Politicians love a journey and the public quite like a politician who can admit he got something wrong. And it’s not in the same league as tanking the economy. But Starmer’s psyche won’t allow this. He’d rather look a bit stupid than open to shifting his opinion. So the exchanges between Keir and Kemi quickly turned into a slanging match. Kemi continuing to pointlessly demand a public retraction and show trial. Starmer just brazening it out with the help of some mild insults. At one point, it felt as if Badenoch might self-combust. Read moreKemi was adamant that Starmer should also apologise to Rosie Duffield The Tory leader takes a far greater interest in independent MPs than she does in her own backbenchers This was another apology Starmer was unwilling to make Instead he turned his attention on Badenoch’s record in government as equalities minister What had women got to show for her two years in the hot seat How come she had never bothered to get a supreme court ruling on sex and gender Keir seemed to think the judgment – grateful as he was for it because it had saved him an awkward row with his own party – was all his own work rather than one initiated in the Scottish courts Starmer went on to list other Tory failures. At the same time as calling for the heat to be taken out of the situation and for trans rights not to be used as a political football who had been overheard calling for a coalition between the Tories and Reform Her party was dying on its feet and she would be lucky to last the year as its leader It was hard to dismiss this as wishful thinking “You should be more worried about your own backbenchers than you are about my frontbench,” she declared Not exactly a vote of confidence in her shadow cabinet Not even his party leader took him seriously More than could be said for some other frontbenchers Starmer’s answers became longer and more detailed as he tried to delay a public confrontation with one of his fiercest critics Lindsay Hoyle bestowed a kindness on the prime minister This culture war had ended in a score draw As a young woman I might have read Kemi Badenoch’s recent comments on mammograms (she said: “I’ve had a mammogram intrusive process … it involves the clinician holding both of your breasts I would not want a man doing that”) and thought: OMG What could be more embarrassing or horrifying than a man manipulating your bare breasts Badenoch has done her bit to rewind the clock on equality and compassion not to mention a disservice to trained male radiographers and the women on mammogram waiting lists There is a critical shortage of radiographers I asked her if she could turn her party—and ultimately we sat for a follow-up conversation on immigration whether the vibe shift has made it to the UK Bari: One of the things that everyone has been talking about over the past few days is the blistering speech that J.D Vance gave in Munich in front of a stunned group of European bureaucrats And I want to read just one line back to you “The threat that I worry about most vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia What I worry about most is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.” What did you think of the speech Kemi: I thought he was dropping some truth bombs The Munich Security Conference clearly was not expecting what he had to say And I found it fascinating that the chair of the conference burst into tears at the end of it and needed a hug because of how tough J.D.’s speech had been This is what I was talking about when I gave my speech this morning It’s not liberal values that are the problem There’s this belief that tolerance is the core fundamental European value To the extent that we are tolerating things that are actually destroying everything else it’s this extreme view of tolerance that is undermining our security On Monday at the ARC Conference in London I sat down with Kemi Badenoch, who has been in charge of the Conservative Party for a little more than 100 days. When I last spoke to her\u2014in December, on Honestly\u2014Trump had just become the president and she had just become opposition leader I asked her if she could turn her party\u2014and ultimately Bari: One of the things that everyone has been talking about over the past few days is the blistering speech that J.D \u201CThe threat that I worry about most vis-\u00E0-vis Europe is not Russia What I worry about most is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.\u201D What did you think of the speech And I found it fascinating that the chair of the conference burst into tears at the end of it and needed a hug because of how tough J.D.\u2019s speech had been It\u2019s not liberal values that are the problem There\u2019s this belief that tolerance is the core fundamental European value it\u2019s this extreme view of tolerance that is undermining our security The Bakersfield Police Department is asking for the community’s help in identifying a man accused of breaking into a newly constructed home and stealing property (KBAK/KBFX) — The Bakersfield Police Department is asking for the community’s help in identifying a man accused of breaking into a newly constructed home and stealing property the man allegedly forced entry into a newly constructed residence in the 8900 block of Kemi Street and stole property The man is described as wearing a black-hooded Reebok sweatshirt Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Detective Guinn at (661) 326-3953 or the Bakersfield Police Department at (661) 327-7111 The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Field She studied organismic & evolutionary biology with a secondary in astrophysics at Harvard and is now pursuing a PhD in the Earth & Planetary Sciences department at Stanford She is represented by Tricia Skinner of Fuse Literary to read about her entry into writing and her scientific exploration of the world of fiction “LOCUS manages to be broad and deep at the same time I appreciate the continuous contact with worldwide science fiction the lively and intelligent writing.” Locus Magazine and Website cover science fiction and allows us to continue to share our content without a paywall Even a small contribution goes a long way toward keeping Locus going and keeping you up to date with new exciting books and in the know about the SFF world Ms Badenoch succeeded Rishi Sunak in November 2024 has warned that sacking her or changing the party leader will not fix the Tories after their poor outing in the local elections held on May 1 Ms Badenoch made this statement after her party lost 674 council seats and control of 16 authorities while the Nigel Farage-led Reform UK won 10 councils And what this shows for a lot of people who hoped that just changing leader again would fix everything is that that’s not going to be enough,” Ms Badenoch told the BBC on Sunday who succeeded Rishi Sunak in November 2024 — about six months ago — said And that brought us to a historic defeat.” The Tory leader said her party will come up with a plan to return to power but will not rush to sweet-talk the public just to win elections “We are going to come out with the policies that people want to see but what we are not going to do is rush out and tell the public things that are not true just so we can win votes,” Ms Badenoch said “This is not about winning elections; this is about fixing our country We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices “Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.” He mentioned that 10 kilometres of the Sokoto-Badagry road project would also be inaugurated before May 25 Mr Trump has threatened certain unauthorised immigrants with prosecution Twenty fellows will be selected—ten from the African continent and ten from the global African diaspora Mr Bwala argued that another achievement of Mr Tinubu’s government is the increased monthly allocation to states Dangote expressed confidence that the new leadership of NNPC Limited will propel the country’s energy industry to new heights and respect for constitutional rights are foundational pillars of the Nigerian Republic © 2025 Peoples Gazette™ Limited Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch today ditched her party’s commitment to the UK’s flagship climate target in a speech hosted by an advertising group that works for Shell Badenoch suggested that we are “bankrupting ourselves” in the pursuit of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 She said that the country should still seek to reduce its climate impact but shouldn’t set a date for achieving net zero the UK is responsible for more than five times this figure The Tory leader, who has received recent donations from fossil fuel interests and climate science deniers, made her speech at the Havas Village in King’s Cross and was introduced by H/Advisors CEO Neil Bennett H/Advisors is owned by Havas – one of the world’s largest public relations and advertising agencies, based in France. Bennett said he was “delighted” to welcome Badenoch to the Havas campus for her speech to ensure the company stays “at the heart of public debate” In September 2023, news broke that Havas had won a major Shell advertising contract – a move condemned by climate campaigners Stay up to date with DeSmog news and alerts In October 2023, Havas CEO Yannick Bolloré told Campaign that he had been happy to pitch for the Shell account saying “we believe the most effective change comes from within.”  “We won’t participate in any greenwashing whatsoever and we will accompany [Shell] and help achieve their transition,” Bolloré said In July 2024, four Havas agencies were stripped of their “B Corp” status for high environmental and governance standards following complaints raised over the company’s Shell contract H/Advisors bid for Shell’s global public relations account last year, although the work eventually remained in the hands of Edelman Havas has worked with a number of fossil fuel clients in recent years although the company had seemed on track to reduce its involvement with polluters The firm has worked in various capacities for BP while Imperial Oil and Gas was a H/Advisors client in 2023.  “Let’s not forget that it was the Tories that legally enshrined the 2050 net zero target,” said Agustina Olivieri Good Law Project head of digital communications “but they never acted on this seriously – as Good Law Project helped to expose in successive High Court battles “And now with a nihilist in the White House and fossil fuel funding filling their coffers as their impetus Badenoch’s party have spinelessly decided to drop it altogether.” While serving in the last Conservative government, Badenoch described the 2050 net zero emissions target as “crucial” her support for the policy has waned in more recent times and is likely to be eye-wateringly expensive” Record has donated to both the IEA and GWPF Over the past two decades, the Conservative Party has accepted £7.2 million from senior figures at the GWPF Badenoch also received £10,000 during her leadership campaign from House of Lords member Dambisa Moyo who is a director at the fossil fuel giant Chevron A press release from the GWPF celebrated Badenoch’s statement today, saying that it could have been drafted by the group’s late founder Nigel Lawson “almost verbatim” “Today marks a dark day in the history of the Conservative Party,” said Ed Matthew director of the UK programme for climate change think tank E3G Badenoch has sold out the interests of the British people to the fossil fuel industry “This is an act of political cowardice and it will not fool the British people or British business who strongly support ambition climate action private equity firm KKR contributed to the president’s swearing-in ceremony Despite widespread public support for clean energy and climate action Nigel Farage’s party is running on an aggressively anti-net zero ticket who is accused of conducting hacking operations against 128 targets faces up to 45 years behind bars if found guilty Newsletter Website by SeriousOtters Subscribe Donate IndependentLightDark{"modes":[{"id":"light","name":"Light","value":"#ffffff"},{"id":"dark","name":"Dark","value":"#000000"}]}Menu{"children":"Menu"}Thank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in Exclusive: Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch under growing pressure over her stance towards Nigel Farage’s party Tory grandees have warned their party against doing deals with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK as the Conservatives brace for heavy losses in the local elections. Senior figures hit out at what they said would be the wrong move “strategically, electorally and politically” after Kemi Badenoch did not rule out forming coalitions with their rivals at a council level. Mr Farage’s party is expected to ride a wave of disillusionment with politics to win hundreds of council seats across England, as well as a number of mayoralities, at the expense of Labour and the Tories The party could also take one of Labour’s safest seats in the Commons Kemi Badenoch is facing a revolt from Tory grandees who want her to toughen her stance against Reform On the idea of local pacts, former cabinet minister David Davis told The Independent: “The answer is no this is the first local government election after our defeat in July it will reflect nothing more than the rejection of our 14 years in government “Even if a coalition agreement was worthwhile this would be the worst time to do it on every single count Another ex-cabinet minister, Andrew Mitchell also said his party should not be agreeing on coalitions with Reform adding: “We need to focus on the policy solutions to win back former Conservative voters.” Damian Green who was Theresa May’s deputy when she was prime minister said he “wouldn’t want to encourage anyone into going into coalition with Reform” He said it may be that the electoral maths in some parts of the country makes deals “necessary to have a council running at all” but said he would be “very wary of doing anything formal” But he added: “Nobody who’s ever tried to do a deal with Nigel Farage has come out undamaged.” Ms Badenoch did not rule out coalitions at a local level with Reform But she did categorically rule out a pact on a national level saying: “I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage.. she argued that some councils might be under what is known as “no overall control” and in those cases “you have to do what is right for your local area” we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level “They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.” saying on Sunday that Reform had “no intention in forming coalitions with the Tories at any level” Ms Badenoch’s comments came after Robert Jenrick was heard in a leaked video vowing to “bring this coalition together” on the right of British politics and ensure the Conservatives and Reform were not competing for votes at the next general election Mr Jenrick has denied that his words amount to calling for a pact with Reform made headlines a few days later when he said that if the number of Tory and Reform MPs combined created a “significant majority” after the next election then “obviously there’s going to be a conversation to form a coalition or some sort of pact” Experts have suggested that Reform could take up to 500 council seats on a “good night” for the party The Conservatives are set to lose hundreds with voters turning to parties like the Liberal Democrats as well as Reform Labour could see limited losses in their council seat numbers as this year’s elections are being held in relatively few of the party’s traditional heartlands But Sir Keir Starmer faces a battle to hold on to what should be the safe Westminster seat of Runcorn in a by-election Polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice has warned that fewer people than ever are prepared to vote Labour or Tory in these elections in the wake of the rise of Reform Speaking to The Independent, Prof Curtice said less than half of voters are saying they will vote for one of the two main parties, in what is a historic shift in voting patterns. govt and politics"},{"score":0.925638,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/political parties"},{"score":0.881076,"label":"/law govt and politics/government/parliament"},{"score":0.870992,"label":"/law 2025Kemi Alemoru Appointed Head of Editorial Content at Glamour UKCondé Nast named Kemi Alemoru as Head of Editorial Content for GLAMOUR UK will oversee all editorial and social content for GLAMOUR UK and reports into GLAMOUR Global Editorial Director Samantha Barry Alemoru previously held roles at gal-dem and Dazed and has written for a range of titles including the BBC as well as working with brands such as Disney She has also acted as an advisor to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan helping to establish the annual festival Black on the Square Alemoru said: “In my career I have seen first hand the transformative power of online media: how it helps people decode the world around them how good quality and truthful journalism gives readers the words to express how they feel that they couldn’t yet articulate and even helps create community online and IRL I can’t wait to continue this while spotlighting incredible homegrown talent and points of view with GLAMOUR’s platform I’m honoured by this opportunity to explore all facets of British womanhood: the challenges we face but also the passions and optimism that can bring us together.” Samantha Barry added: “I'm incredibly excited to work with Kemi on her new role She is full of energy and fresh ideas on how she will take GLAMOUR to the next level and joins an exciting and extremely talented UK team I’ve no doubt that Kemi will elevate our editorial GLAMOUR has cemented itself as a leader in the women's digital-first media space building an engaged audience across a range of platforms In addition to their world renowned and star-studded events GLAMOUR UK has also steadily built its consumer business over several years including with its recently relaunched Beauty Box law-changing wins with their editorial campaign around ending sexuality explicit deepfake imagery.  Condé Nast New York 1 World Trade Center New York very occasionally useful advert for British politics Here’s what you need to know from the latest session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through All politics is local: The final PMQs before the local elections had extra cut and thrust as both leaders rammed home their final arguments Prime Minister Keir Starmer took a swipe at a top Tory appearing to be on leadership maneuvers as he congratulated London Marathon participants — including Conservative frontbencher Robert Jenrick “who I’m reliably informed is still running.” Cue chuckles from the Labour benches What they sparred about: The grooming gangs scandal, with Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch ducking the opportunity to go in on Labour splits over climate policy the emotive subject of widespread child abuse over decades was reduced to political point-scoring as both leaders accused the other of doing nothing Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch probed the prime minster on if there had been a cover-up — and whether it should be exposed Action stations: “I oversaw the first grooming gang prosecution,” the PM responded as he leaned into his old gig as Britain’s chief prosecutor Starmer flipped the question back on Badenoch saying she “never raised this issue in the house in three years” when she was in government Starmer said ministers would implement recommendations from an existing child sexual abuse inquiry Inquiry about inquiries: Badenoch wasn’t letting her party’s record be twisted, pointing to a grooming gangs taskforce set up under the last administration The Tory leader said Starmer had promised five local inquiries into abuse — but only one location had actually been announced “Will he now name where the other four inquiries will be?” Starmer Nothing to see here: The Tory leader was unperturbed claiming at least 50 towns “are affected by rape gangs” and pressed for a national inquiry “Is he dragging his heels on this because he doesn’t want Labour cover-ups exposed?” The PM couldn’t disagree more saying he “changed the entire approach to prosecutions” of abuse when he ran the CPS and was “lauded” by the-then Tory government as Badenoch “stayed silent.” Badenoch insisted only a full national inquiry could deliver justice “I strongly believe we should listen to victims and we’ve been listening to victims on this side for decades,” Starmer shot back. The people at the heart of their exchange are unlikely to feel well-served by either side buoyed by fellow Donald Trump-critic Mark Carney’s election victory in Canada pressed Starmer on whether parliament would get a vote on a U.S only reiterating that any deal would “go through the known procedures.” Expect plenty more scrutiny on this Helpful backbench intervention of the week: Labour’s Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson cheekily referenced “a coming together” between Reform UK and the Tories (hat-tip this POLITICO scoop) While Speaker Lindsay Hoyle wouldn’t let Starmer answer the PM will have been pleased with the backbench backup Totally unscientific scores on the doors: Badenoch 6/10 Starmer 7/10. Local election fever had MPs at their most partisan and gladiatorial But that atmosphere jarred with a problem as serious as child grooming While Badenoch highlighted the weaknesses of local inquires the PM could point to action on existing recommendations and his past legal record — just giving him the win Dire local election results leave some Conservatives wondering if their former leader’s magic could turn things around Downing Street insists nothing has changed despite both main parties getting a drubbing from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Top politician says losing territory is “not fair” but “can be a solution” for reaching peace as the White House puts the squeeze on Westminster is champing at the bit to see if Reform UK wins a crucial by-election against Labour next week We are proud to be local representatives who care about their communities That’s something Reform and the Tories will never understand Do you know somebody who is good at fixing the local church roof if we are to go by the comments of the leader of the Conservative party they are quite likely to be standing as a Liberal Democrat candidate in next week’s local elections Yes, that’s right. According to Badenoch, a Lib Dem is “somebody who is good at fixing their church roof And … the people in the community like them.” But I’ll happily wear it as a badge of honour – as will more than 1,000 Lib-Dem candidates standing across England for election on 1 May And don’t her comments tell you all you need to know about the state of the Tory party in 2025 serially online and with a sneering attitude to serving your community or helping clean up a local river – as something worth fighting for I have been travelling across the country these past few weeks – albeit via some unusual modes of transport: swan boats And so many of the local people I’ve met have told me about how they want to kick the Conservatives out of local government in their area while they were looking forward to a new government after years of struggling through a cost of living crisis Labour’s changes have actually made things worse The hospitality industry in the south-west there has been a sense of despondency – whether about the cut to the winter fuel payment which has forced pensioners to choose between heating or eating or the failure to solve the longstanding crisis in social care Anger at the Conservatives, despondency at Labour. It is in these conditions that the easy soundbites of Nigel Farage and Reform UK can start to sound compelling. But the occasional member for Clacton and his ilk offer no real solutions Read moreIn the Hull and East Yorkshire mayoral election, what everyone expected to be a Lib Dem v Labour fight is turning into one between the Lib Dems and Reform That’s why the bookies’ odds now show Reform and the Lib Dems in the top two with Labour trailing in fourth place as eight to one outsiders When you compare the records of the two parties We have a strong record of running Hull council – and many other local authorities across the country – and of being an effective opposition in East Riding He and his MPs are fighting like rats in a sack He is overseeing a bin fire – yet wants you to believe that Reform can be trusted with running your local bin collections The fundamental difference is that the Lib Dems work hard for our communities. We are winning up and down the country. So, on 1 May, remember, whether it’s a church roof that needs fixing, local crime that needs cutting, or a GP or dentist you need help to see, Liberal Democrats will be fighting for a fair deal for you and your community Ed Davey is the leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for Kingston and Surbiton Receive a Daily or Weekly summary of the most important articles direct to your inbox, just enter your email below. By entering your email address you agree for your data to be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy The leader of the opposition Conservative party has shattered the political consensus on climate change in a speech attacking the UK’s net-zero by 2050 target In a speech launching a “policy renewal programme” to shape the Conservatives’ approach to key issues Badenoch disowned the target passed into law by her own party in 2019 She offered no alternative to the 2050 net-zero target and failed to cite any evidence in support of her assertion that meeting it would be “impossible” without “bankrupting” the country Badenoch had touted the “opportunity” for “growth and revitalised communities” as a result of the “clean energy revolution” However, she then ran her leadership campaign as a “net-zero sceptic” from the home of Neil Record the chair of the UK’s main climate-sceptic lobby group Net Zero Watch Her speech received widespread media coverage including frontpage stories for the Daily Mail as well as editorials from the Daily Telegraph and the Sun Carbon Brief looks at the evidence on the UK’s net-zero target and how it contradicts the claims made by Badenoch in her speech Badenoch claimed that she was committed to “safeguard[ing] the delicate balance of nature for future generations” and that she was offering “three truths” about net-zero Yet she also falsely claimed that “no one knows” why the UK has a net-zero by 2050 target The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has detailed the extensive evidence that it will be impossible to stop global warming without reaching net-zero and a decrease in the net non-CO2 forcing (or sufficient net negative CO2 emissions to offset any further warming from net non-CO2 forcing) the climate system will continue to warm.” Speaking at the report launch, IPCC Working Group I co-chair Dr Valérie Masson-Delmotte said reaching net-zero emissions was the “only way to limit global warming” “This report reaffirms that there is a near-linear relationship between the cumulative amount of emissions of CO2 in the atmosphere from human activities and the extent of observed and future warming This means that the only way to limit global warming is to reach net-zero CO2 emissions at the global scale Every additional tonne of CO2 emissions adds to global warming.” This is why the 2015 Paris Agreement signed by almost every country in the world targets a “balance” between greenhouse gas sources and the “sinks” that remove them from the atmosphere The IPCC also explained that limiting warming by the end of the century to less than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels would require emissions to reach net-zero globally by the “early 2050s” In 2019, the UK’s advisory Climate Change Committee (CCC) considered the breadth of scientific evidence, the economics of the transition, as well as societal and technological trends when it offered detailed advice – covering 277 pages – on setting a net-zero by 2050 target This advice formed the basis for the then-Conservative government’s decision to put the net-zero target into law by amending the UK’s 2050 target under the 2008 Climate Change Act from an 80% reduction in emissions to a 100% goal With the academies of other G7 nations, the UK’s Royal Society set out the “need” for countries to “carefully design plan and accelerate action to reach net-zero by 2050 or earlier” “Science tells us we must act now and continue to act into the future to deliver net-zero emissions if we are to avoid unacceptable warming.” When she signed the net-zero target into law in 2019, former Conservative prime minister Theresa May said that the goal was “a conservative mission to end our contribution to climate change and build a more prosperous and resilient economy” Back to top Despite the clear evidence of the need to reach net-zero emissions to stop global warming Badenoch said in her speech that reaching the target by 2050 was “impossible” She did not offer any evidence to support this supposedly “unvarnished truth” Announcing the adoption of the target in 2019 Conservative then-secretary of state Greg Clark said that it was “necessary and feasible” Indeed, the 2019 advice set out in detail how it would be “feasible” to cut UK emissions to net-zero by 2050. In its latest advice to the government the CCC set out a “balanced pathway” to net-zero by 2050 that showed the target was “feasible and deliverable” Similarly, in 2024 the National Energy System Operator (NESO) published three “credible” and “affordable” pathways to net-zero by 2050, as part of its annual “future energy scenarios” “Our net-zero pathways identify three credible strategic routes to reach net-zero…Decisive action is needed within the next two years to deliver the fundamental change required for a fair sustainable and secure net-zero energy system by 2050.” A peer-reviewed research paper in 2022 identified and compared seven pathways to net-zero by 2050 the study concluded that “the breadth of pathways analysed in this paper has shown that there are several possible routes to net-zero” Moreover, the Conservative government in 2021 published its own strategy for reaching net-zero by 2050, including an entire section titled “why net-zero” then-Conservative prime minister Boris Johson wrote that “reaching net-zero is entirely possible” An updated 2023 strategy published under Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak – when Badenoch was secretary of state for business and trade – says that “the transition to net-zero will provide the economic opportunity of the 21st century” At a global level, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has published a pathway “for the global energy sector to achieve net-zero CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions by 2050 with advanced economies reaching net-zero emissions in advance of others” In addition to meeting global climate goals the IEA’s pathway also meets “key energy-related sustainable development goals (SDGs) in particular universal energy access by 2030 and major improvements in air quality” Numerous other global pathways showing how to reach net-zero emissions by or around 2050 have been published, as summarised by the IPCC’s latest assessment report Another of the ideas promoted in Badenoch’s speech is that there has “never ever been a detailed plan” to reach net-zero or other UK climate goals This is flatly contradicted by the extensive legislative and policy framework set up around UK climate targets under the 2008 Climate Change Act This legislation requires the government to seek and take into account the CCC’s advice on how to reach net-zero. It also requires the government, under sections 13 and 14 of the act to prepare and publish “proposals and policies” that “will enable” the UK’s legally binding targets to be met The UK’s 2021 strategy was subject to legal challenge and was subsequently ruled unlawful for failing to publicly spell out the ways it would cut UK emissions However, these numbers – quantifying the impact of each policy to cut emissions – had always been available behind the scenes. They were later published as part of a revised highly detailed “delivery plan” for meeting the UK’s goals Indeed, it was published in 2023 alongside a veritable “avalanche” of plans and policies amounting to nearly 3,000 pages of documents on how the UK was going about cutting its emissions While this revised strategy was later ruled unlawful once again The Labour government has until May 2025 to submit a revised delivery plan to the high court In addition to claiming that there is no plan for reaching net-zero Badenoch claimed that this fictional absence is because it “would reveal just how catastrophic the actual costs will be for families Badenoch also claimed falsely that reaching net-zero would be a “multi-trillion” project and that it could only be reached by “bankrupting us” “Anyone who has done any serious analysis knows it cannot be achieved without a significant drop in our living standards or worse Her speech follows a wave of “scary-sounding numbers” being thrown around the UK debate about net-zero over the past 18 months these arguments – and the numbers behind them – focus on the costs of reaching net-zero without mentioning the costs of business-as-usual; look at the cost of cutting emissions but not the benefits; or ignore the costs of failing to tackle climate change the only “serious analysis” – as Badenoch quipped – on the economic impact of the UK’s net-zero target has found that meeting the goal will require significant which will deliver long-term savings in terms of lower bills for importing fossil fuels growth and revitalised communities” offered by “the clean energy revolution” which she said was the “future-proofing force that will help us create a better tomorrow” Her comments echoed the independent review commissioned by the government she was part of at the time which concluded that net-zero was the “growth opportunity of the 21st century” It added that while significant investments would be needed – primarily from the private sector – the “benefits of investing in net-zero today outweigh the costs” Similarly, in its latest advice to the government, the CCC concluded that the UK would need to make additional investments totalling less than £700bn over the 25 years to 2050 This was significantly lower than the £1.3tn estimate published just five years earlier and several times lower than the “multi-trillion” cost claimed by Badenoch Those investments would deliver almost equally large operational savings of £600bn transport and industry needing less fossil fuel imports the CCC therefore estimated that the net cost of reaching net-zero would amount to just over £100bn over 25 years equivalent to £4bn per year or 0.2% of GDP This £100bn net cost is 73% lower than the CCC’s estimate from five years earlier, Carbon Brief analysis found the CCC said that the large majority of the investment required – some 65-90% – would come from the private sector In a statement responding to Badenoch’s speech, Dhara Vyas, the head of Energy UK agreed on the need for “honest conversations”, but added that delaying investments “increases the eventual cost” and – as per Carbon Brief analysis – had already “added billions to bills” “Of course we need honest conversations about how we fund the costs in a way that is fair to households and businesses – and this also needs to include a consideration of the potential price of inaction Delaying upfront investment increases the eventual cost and rowing back on green measures added billions to bills during the gas crisis.” Badenoch’s speech did not mention the costs of unchecked warming she described the UK’s approach to climate policy as “fantasy politics…Promising the Earth the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) concluded in 2021: “Unmitigated climate change would ultimately have catastrophic economic and fiscal consequences.” This was, in part, due to the impact of increasingly severe extreme weather events, which the OBR subsequently said might cost the UK nearly 8% of GDP by 2050 The conclusion was also based on the fact that shifting to clean energy would reduce the UK’s exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices set by international markets “There is a risk that the UK economy remains relatively highly dependent on imported gas…Continued dependence on gas could be as expensive fiscally as completing the transition to net-zero” the OBR found that delaying action “could double the overall cost” to the UK of cutting emissions to net-zero In its own 2021 review of the net-zero target the Treasury under Rishi Sunak said that unchecked climate change would be a “significant fiscal risk” and that while the transition to net-zero would have “material fiscal consequences” the increased investment required to transition to net-zero creates opportunities for growth and employment.” This is illustrated by a February 2025 report from the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) which concluded that net-zero was making a “growing contribution” to the UK economy The net-zero economy has become a powerhouse of job creation and economic expansion with 10.1% growth in the total economic value supported by the net-zero economy since 2023.” The report found that the net-zero economy was growing three times faster than other sectors. Responding to Badenoch’s speech, CBI head Rain Newton-Smith said in a statement: “Now is not the time to step back from the opportunities of the green economy Cross-party support for net-zero has underpinned international investors’ confidence to choose the UK for investment in the energy transition.” Part of Badenoch’s argument against the net-zero target is her claim that the UK’s current climate policies are “driving up the cost of energy” “The cost of electricity – far too high – much higher than nearby and comparative countries with the real possibility of it going even higher with environmental levies.” (As Energy UK’s Vyas notes in her statement “it’s the volatile cost of fossil fuels and our dependence on them that have driven up energy bills for customers”.) Indeed, the UK’s wholesale electricity prices are almost entirely dictated by the price of gas, which remains more than three times more expensive than before the global energy crisis This near-perfect correlation between gas and power prices is shown in the figure below (Note that Northern Ireland is part of the separate all-Ireland electricity market.) While the UK’s electricity was the “cleanest ever” in 2024 with a record-low share coming from fossil fuels gas continues to set the price of electricity during the vast majority of hours This is a result of the “marginal pricing” system used in most countries around the world gas sets the wholesale price of electricity in the UK during 98% of hours The government’s target of clean power by 2030 is expected to significantly reduce the amount of time when gas sets the price of electricity In one of the scenarios set out in NESO advice last autumn gas would set the price in just 15% of hours by 2030 insulating consumers from “volatile international gas prices” While the UK’s high exposure to gas prices is the main reason for high electricity bills the government is also under pressure to cut other costs including the cost of building and operating the electricity system as well as funding historical support for renewable projects A long-running government review of the way the electricity market operates is due to reach a conclusion by summer 2025 This could result in changes designed to reduce the influence of gas on electricity prices and to make the system more efficient In a March 2025 report Energy UK set out a range of shorter-term options to cut the price of electricity most prominently removing policy costs from electricity bills and paying them via gas bills or from general taxation This shifting of costs is known as “rebalancing” The CCC’s recent advice to government also called for policy costs – which make up around 25% of household electricity prices – to be rebalanced onto gas bills or taxation In the longer term – and contrary to what Badenoch implies in her speech – the transition to clean energy is widely expected to cut household energy costs Looking specifically at the UK, the CCC said in February 2025 that shifting towards net-zero would help cut household energy bills and motoring costs by £1,400 per year by 2050 It said that household energy bills for heat and power would fall by £700 in 2050 and that the cost of fuelling cars would fall by a similar amount CCC chief executive Emma Pinchbeck addressed MPs arguing against the transition to net-zero telling journalists that their opposition amounted to being hostile to lower bills for their constituents “If you are an elected representative who is hostile to renewables what our numbers say is you are also hostile to your constituents saving £700 on their energy bill and [another] £700 on their fuel bill through making those changes.” At a global level, the IEA concluded that reaching net-zero by 2050 would “make energy cheaper the IEA concluded that accelerating climate action to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 would make the global energy system “more affordable and fairer” this is because higher investment costs would be more than offset by lower fuel bills greater efficiency and reduced fossil fuel rents “Energy transitions could lead to major reductions in household energy bills and accelerate progress towards universal energy access But managing upfront costs for poorer and rural households – as well as ongoing costs – remains a key public policy challenge.” Another key part of Badenoch’s speech was her argument that net-zero “makes us dangerously dependent on countries who don’t share our values and it is risking our energy security” She did not find space in her speech to mention the UK’s current exposure to expensive fossil fuel imports many of which come from what she refers to as “countries who don’t share our values” The government’s target to shift to clean power by 2030 would leave the country “much less reliant on energy imports for power and far less exposed to fluctuations in international gas prices”, according to NESO advice published last November The wider shift away from fossil fuels, towards electrified heat and transport, would mean the UK could cut its oil imports tenfold from current levels by 2050 and its gas imports by two-thirds, according to the CCC’s recently published pathway to net-zero supported the shift to renewables “when they make energy cheaper and more secure” she also claimed that they would leave the UK “heavily dependent on China” The country currently manufactures most of the world’s solar panels and large proportions of the batteries and other clean technologies needed to decarbonise The shift away from fossil fuels towards clean energy will indeed reshape the geopolitics of global energy supplies Badenoch omits the fundamentally different nature of buying an electric vehicle which can be fuelled with domestically produced electricity In its 2023 energy security strategy the then-Conservative government said that the shift to clean energy was the “most effective route to ensuring both climate and energy security” which would help “avoid risks associated with dependency on fossil fuels” In its coverage of Badenoch’s speech, Bloomberg reports that her positioning on net-zero is an attempt to win back votes lost to the hard-right Ever since the Uxbridge byelection in July 2023 the Conservatives had been tacking away from their historical support for climate policies in general and the net-zero target in particular This shift saw then-prime minister Rishi Sunak make a September 2023 speech in which he abandoned or delayed key parts of the then-government’s climate strategy Using similar language to Badenoch’s speech, Sunak said at the time that he was adopting an “honest” approach to net-zero and that he was going to remove “unacceptable costs” from “hard-working British people”. Several of his changes would have cost consumers billions Many political observers noted at the time that this approach carried electoral risks for the Conservatives. Even some within the party argued that the “right lessons” needed to be drawn from the Uxbridge result This is despite the fact that anti net-zero rhetoric from the Conservatives was reportedly at least partly to blame for their loss in last year’s general election Indeed, some 65% of the UK public backs the net-zero by 2050 target, according to polling by Climate Barometer 55% of Conservative voters back the target YouGov polling released on the day of Badenoch’s speech found that 61% of people in Great Britain support net-zero and just 24% oppose it.  Among those who voted Conservative in the last election 52% support the goal and 38% oppose it One final point raised by Badenoch’s speech is that even if the UK were to reach net-zero global emissions would not be guaranteed to reach net-zero overall She went on to claim that “other countries are not following us”. Contrary to this claim, some 142 countries – representing more than 80% of the world’s population – are covered by net-zero targets Glossary: Decoding how China talks about energy and climate change Factcheck: Climate change is not making extreme cold more common Factcheck: How ‘scary-sounding numbers’ are being used to mislead the UK about net-zero Factcheck: Why the recent ‘acceleration’ in global warming is what scientists expect Get a round-up of all the important articles and papers selected by Carbon Brief by email. Find out more about our newsletters here Published under a CC license You are welcome to reproduce unadapted material in full for non-commercial use credited ‘Carbon Brief’ with a link to the article