"Walker's elevation to the Lords completes a rapid political realignment. A little over three years ago, he was being lined up as a potential Conservative MP candidate and had donated nearly £10,000 to the party in the summer of 2020, during Boris Johnson's premiership. He was added to the approved Conservative candidates' list in 2022. But by 2023, Walker publicly severed ties with the party, accusing the Conservatives of having "drifted badly out of touch with business and the economy, and with the everyday needs of the British people"."
"In early 2024, he endorsed Starmer after what he described as "a lot of soul-searching", arguing that the Labour leader "has exactly what it takes to be a great leader". Even then, he stopped short of framing himself as a future Labour politician. Yet his peerage will now make him one of the most prominent pro-Labour voices within British business."
Richard Walker, executive chair of Iceland Foods, is set to join the House of Lords as part of around 25 new Labour peers, giving him a direct parliamentary platform. The appointment follows a rapid political realignment: Walker donated nearly £10,000 to the Conservatives in 2020, was added to the approved Conservative candidates' list in 2022, then publicly severed ties in 2023, criticizing the party on retail crime, inflation and post-Brexit trade. He endorsed Keir Starmer in early 2024 after "a lot of soul-searching", and his peerage positions him as a high-profile pro-Labour business voice.
Read at Business Matters
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]