Iceland boss Richard Walker has formally endorsed Labour as the “right choice” for communities and business, after quitting the Conservative party last year.
The frozen food specialist’s executive chair said “Britain needs sound leadership after years of chaos” and that backing the Labour Party was “the right choice”.
Writing in The Guardian, he added: “I am now clear in my own mind that Labour is the right choice for the communities across the country where Iceland operates – and the right choice for everyone in business who wants to see this country grow and prosper.”
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“I say this not because I have had a radical change of heart. I say it because Labour under Keir Starmer has progressively moved towards the ground on which I have always stood, at the same time as the Conservatives have moved away from it.”
Despite the retailer leader noting that he is “not joining” the Labour party and that Iceland is “apolitical”, he added that he supported Labour’s stance on reforming “regulations to make it easier for families who need infant formula to get it – something Iceland has been campaigning on”.
Walker said: “Labour has in Rachel Reeves a chancellor in waiting who understands the critical importance of wealth creation that lifts the economy for all in society, and who knows that we must revive our manufacturing and services”
“This is one way Labour can breathe new life into our wearied high streets and enhance the quality of all our lives.”
Walker’s endorsements follow his resignation from the Conservative party after he accused the party of becoming “out of touch” with business.
