LONDON (AFP): A British billionaire who once donated half a million pounds to the ruling Conservative party said on Tuesday he would vote for Labour in next month’s election.
John Caudwell, a businessman who donated £500,000 ($635,000) to the Tories before the last general election in 2019, described Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as an “absolute dud” and said leader Keir Starmer “really hits the spot with a lot of issues”.
Though the founder of mobile phone retailer Phones 4u did not spell out to the BBC if he would donate to Labour, which looks set to win in the upcoming poll, Caudwell said the party was “absolutely the very best for Britain going forward” and “committed to GDP growth and the environment”.
In 2019, the billionaire vowed to leave the UK for tax-free Monaco if then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn won and increased taxes on high-earners.
Since then, Labour has been at pains to purge Corbyn and his policies, and instead court businesses.
Caudwell praised Starmer for trying to get rid of the “loony Left” which he said had “extremely socialist policies”.
“We can’t tax rich people in order to help the poor because they’ll go off to Monaco and other places, we have to create real genuine wealth”, the businessman added.
Labour’s Starmer said he was “delighted” that “someone with such a successful track-record in business, has today thrown his support behind the changed Labour Party that I lead”.
The Conservatives — in power for 14 years — have traditionally been more trusted by Britain’s business community, but have seen that reputation dented post-Brexit and years of chaotic party in-fighting.
