A BILLIONAIRE who gave the Conservative Party £500,000 has given Keir Starmer a glowing endorsement on Newsnight.
John Caudwell, the founder of defunct mobile phone retailer Phones4u, said on Tuesday that Starmer's Labour – which he joined the same day – was in "complete alignment" with his "views as a commercial capitalist".
He said: "What Keir has done is taken all the left out of the Labour Party.
"He's come out with a brilliant set of values and principles and ways of growing Britain in complete alignment with my views as a commercial capitalist."
'What Keir has done...is taken all the left out of the Labour party, and he's come out with a set of values and principles in complete alignment with my views as a commercial capitalist.' pic.twitter.com/RrW3XbsPDR
— j (@jrc1921) June 18, 2024
On Times Radio on Wednesday, he elaborated on what he aims to do for the party, saying: "I'm hoping to have some degree of influence in the Labour party to put them on certain correct pathways, if I believe they're not on the correct commercial pathway."
Starmer said he was "delighted" by Caudwell joining the party, and said that it was a sign that "business backs Labour".
Billionaire property developer and former Liz Truss supporter John Caudwell states 'I am hoping to have some degree of influence in the Labour party to put them on certain correct pathways' pic.twitter.com/tNewbfGWVu
— j (@jrc1921) June 19, 2024
He 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."
Caudwell was a significant supporter of Boris Johnson and was a proponent of Brexit, saying that the threat of a no-deal departure from the EU would extract concessions from the bloc.
He said on Tuesday: “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.
"I have been amazed by how Keir Starmer has transformed the Labour Party and brought it back from [the] Corbyn brink.
“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."
Caudwell has supported the Tories for more than 50 years and was one of the biggest donors to the party in the run-up to the 2019 General Election.
In addition to his £500,000 donation at the time of Johnson's premiership, he donated £2000 to MP Bill Cash's 2010 election fund.
