The Tories should not “panic” into seeking to oust Kemi Badenoch as leader after their local elections drubbing, says William Hague.
The former party leader also rejected calls for a merger with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK which stormed to a string of election successes, including winning the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.
The Conservatives performed significantly worse than expected in the May 1 local elections, despite predictions they could lose around 500 seats.
The results saw Reform gain 677 council seats, the Tories lose 674 to end up on 319, Labour losing 187 to finish with 98, the Liberal Democrats gaining 163 to a total of 370, and the Greens increasing their number by 44 to 79.
Lord Hague laid out a ten-point plan on how to save the Tory party, as it faces a potential existential threat from Mr Farage’s Reform.
“A pretty important one, not to do something in a panic to switch leaders again without knowing what an earth where you would go, to try to merge with the Reform party..,” he stressed.
“Be clear this is not a Trump-style Conservative party,” he added on Times Radio.
“Learn from what has just happened in Canada and in Australia where Conservative parties have just been hammered in elections that they thought they were going to win a few weeks ago because they have been depicted as being another version of Donald Trump.
“Then, the other one is make the economy centre stage.
“The Labour government is now doing some good things on the economy but it’s in a real muddle after it’s very disappointing Budget last year, increasing taxes on employers employing people.
“The Conservatives really should be now showing again they have a strong economic agenda.”
His other seven key themes outlined in The Times were:
* Understanding voters’ frustrations over governments recent “inability to improve living standards, control immigration or improve public services” and acknowledge that “the shambles produced by the Johnson and Truss experiments damaged the country and disgraced the party”.
* Make a “big, bold argument about where the world is heading” and the role the UK should play.
* Focus heavily on education.
* Back an immigration approach which welcomes “brilliant people” but ends illegal migration and abuse of the asylum system.
* On net zero, “challenge the rigidity of Ed Miliband without joining Trump and Farage in living in denial”.
* Learn from devolving powers to the regions to “spread prosperity”.
* Do not “fall into a trap” of opposing all Labour’s attempts to build closer ties with the EU as “a plot to reverse Brexit”.
Ms Truss responded to Lord Hague’s plan, messaging on X: “I have one piece of advice on how to win an election: Don’t listen to William Hague.”
I have one piece of advice on how to win an election:
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) May 5, 2025
Don't listen to William Hague.https://t.co/v5rie4Yfrn
The peer, now Oxford University’s Chancellor, said he would “glide” over the intervention by Ms Truss, the shortest-serving UK Prime Minister who resigned after 45 days, having sent the economy into meltdown with the September 2022 “mini Budget”.
Pressed whether people should read his column and see who is the more credible figure, him or Ms Truss, he added: “I’m not going to enter into that...people can make their own judgements about that.”
