A Conservative party donor who donated £500,000 to Boris Johnson’s compaign in 2019 has announced he will vote for Labour in next month’s general election. John Caudwell, who founded the mobile phone retailer Phones4U, made the announcement on Tuesday evening, in comments first reported by the Times and the BBC. It comes after a recent meeting between Caudwell and Keir Starmer, Labour said.
Caudwell, 71, said: “For many years now, I have been rather despairing about the performance of the party that I have supported for the last 51 years: the Tories. Only five years ago, I donated half a million to the Conservatives to help avert the disaster that would have been Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street. “But I’ve been increasingly critical of Tory failures since then, particularly over Rishi’s mismanagement of the economy during Covid, Boris’s lowering of ethical standards – and, of course, associated with that the accusation that Tory cronies benefited improperly regarding Covid PPE – and then the Liz Truss debacle. “When Labour launched its manifesto last Thursday, I was delighted to see that accelerating economic growth was front and centre, and that projected growth is clearly tied into making Britain a clean energy superpower. “So, I can declare publicly that I will vote for Labour and I encourage everybody to do the same.” On his decision to back Labour, Caudwell told BBC’s Newsnight: “The real clincher was on Friday. I was at a business conference they were holding, 50 CEOs of the biggest companies in the UK, representing £4tn of market cap. “The empathy from Rachel Reeves and the other people in the Labour party and these senior businessmen was clear. It was about the questions that were asked, and received excellent answers about what Labour is going to do with the economy.” Caudwell added that he agreed with Starmer’s vision of focusing on growth of GDP to increase the public purse and climate, science and technology. Responding to Caudwell’s endorsement, Starmer said: “I’m delighted that John, someone with such a successful track record in business, has today thrown his support behind the changed Labour party that I lead. “The message is clear: business backs change and economic stability with Labour, and rejects five more years of chaos and decline with the Tories. “John was not just a Conservative voter but a substantial donor to the Conservative party in 2019 – so it’s not a decision that he will have taken lightly. But it’s clear that he shares my plan for growth that I set out in the Labour manifesto. “I’m campaigning non-stop between now and 4 July to win the votes of other people who have backed the Tories in the past but see change with Labour as the best future for Britain.” Last September, Caudwell said he would not back Rishi Sunak after the “madness” of his U-turn on green policies. He admitted he was left “beyond shocked” at Sunak’s announcement, which included delaying the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, pushing it back from 2030 to 2035.