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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Jacob Phillips

Holly Valance's billionaire husband backs Labour days after actress called leftwing ideas 'crap'

Holly Valance’s husband Nick Candy has signalled he would back a Labour government, days after the Australian soap star called leftwing ideas “crap”.

UK property tycoon Mr Candy, who is a Conservative Party donor has praised Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s business ties and criticised Tory infighting.

Speaking on a Bloomberg podcast Mr Candy said it is “probably time for a change” in the country’s leadership.

He described Starmer as “a decent man with good values and good morals,” even if “we still don’t know the Labour policies.”

The comments come days after his wife called for Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg to be Prime Minister at the launch of the right wing Popular Conservatives movement in London on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old Ex-Neighbours actor said: “Everyone starts off as a leftie and then wakes up at some point after you start either making money, working, trying to run a business, trying to buy a home, and then you realise what crap ideas they all are - and then you go to the right.”

Valance also told GB News that Liz Truss was "really, really interesting to listen to”, and then she said, "Jacob for PM”.

But Mr Candy, who is reported to have donated £100,000 to the Tory party when Boris Johnson was prime minister in March 2020 has said the level of infighting in the Tory party has led him to think the country needs something different.

Mr Candy told Bloomberg while he is “naturally a Tory,” he voted for Tony Blair. 

He added: “When Jeremy Corbyn looked like he was coming in power last time I was ready to leave the UK. I wired all my money out the UK ready to leave just in case he did come in.

 “I think people are less worried this time because Keir Starmer is not Jeremy Corbyn.”

The property tycoon expressed doubts about a proposed tax on private schooling.

He added: “I went to a private school, but my parents often couldn’t afford to pay for me to go to a private school, so my grandma paid the school fees. 

“An extra 20 percent on the VAT would have been a lot for my grandma, probably not affordable.”

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