As
the
general
election
swiftly
approaches,
all
polls
indicate
Keir
Starmer
will
finish
the
week
as
the
UK’s
new
prime
minister.
Though
it
is
not
the
only
element
of
the
former
director
for
public
prosecution’s
campaign
to
win
over
the
country,
the
Labour
leader’s
efforts
to
cosy
up
to
business
have
been
a
central
part
of
what
he
himself
calls
a
“transformed”
party.
Spearheading
this
effort
is
Rachel
Reeves,
the
Party’s
shadow
chancellor.
A
former
Bank
of
England
economist
and
chess
champion,
she
has
fought
back
from
a
potentially-damaging
plagiarism
row
to
convince
City
leaders
that
Labour
should
be
the
square
mile’s
party
of
choice
in
2024.
As
it
stands,
there
is
substantial
evidence
the
plan
has
worked.
At
the
beginning
of
this
year, Richard
Walker,
the
former
Conservative
Donor
and
chair
of
the
Iceland
supermarket
chain,
ditched
his
allegiance
to
the
Tories
for
Labour.
Walker
said
that
the
Labour
leader
showed
“compassion
and
concern
for
the
less
fortunate”
and
an
awareness
of
the
impact
of
the
cost-of-living
crisis
on
Iceland’s
customers.
The
British
businessman
also
said
Starmer
“demonstrated
[leadership]
in
the
way
in
which
he
has
transformed
his
own
party
by
ruthlessly
excising
the
Corbynite
extremism
that
made
Labour
unelectable
in
2019.”
He
also
argued
that
the
Conservatives
had
abandoned
“basic
conservative
principles”
while
the
Labour
Party
under
Starmer
had
become
more
aligned
with
his
values.
Which
Other
Business
Leaders
Back
Labour?
John
Caudwell,
the
Phones
4u
founder,
also
said
he
was
open
to
donating
to
Labour
in
future.
He
believes
that
those
next
in
government
must
make
“brave
decisions”
to
promote
growth,
and
has
said
he
believes
members
of
the
shadow
cabinet
are
up
to
the
task.
“Any
party
that
can
gain
power
and
do
what
I
know
we
need
to
do
for
Britain,
I
could
become
a
supporter
of
that
party.
[I]
will
support
what
I
think
is
right
commercially
for
Britain,”
he
said.
That’s
not
a
completely
ringing
endorsement –
he’s
saying
Labour
could
not
convince
him
to
donate
before
Thursday’s
election,
but
it
could
win
his
donation
before
the
next
one.
Others
have
indicated
their
support
too.
Last
month 120
leaders
and
investors came
out
in
support
of
the
Labour
Party.
In
a
joint
statement
they
said
that
the
UK
economy
had
been
“beset
by
instability,
stagnation,
and
a
lack
of
long-term
focus.”
Among
them
is
a
former
Tory
business
champion.
Iain
Anderson,
chair
of
corporate
affairs
and
lobbying
company
H/Advisors
Cicero
Group,
has
publicly
advertised
his
Conservative
leanings
for
many
years,
and
between
2021
and
2022
had
served
as
the
government’s
LGBTQ
business
champion –
a
role
he
held
part-time
within
the
government’s
Equality
Office.
However,
he
resigned
from
the
role
over
the
then-government’s
decision
not
to
ban
trans
conversion
“therapy”.
“We
are
looking
for
a
government
that
will
partner
fiscal
discipline
with
a
long-term
growth
strategy,
working
in
partnership
with
the
private
sector
to
drive
innovation
and
investment
to
build
digital
and
physical
capital
and
fix
our
skills
system,”
the
signatories
of
the
letter
said.
“Labour
has
shown
it
has
changed
and
wants
to
work
with
business
to
achieve
the
UK’s
full
economic
potential.
We
should
now
give
it
the
chance
to
change
the
country
and
lead
Britain
into
the
future.”
Other
signatories
included
John
Holland-Kaye,
the
former
chief
executive
of
Heathrow
Airport,
and
Charles
Randell,
the
former
chair
of
the
Financial
Conduct
Authority.
Are
FTSE
100
Companies
Getting
Involved?
However,
only
one
sitting
chair
of
a
FTSE
100
company
signed
the
letter, Andrew
Higginson
is
the
chair
of
JD
Sport’s,
and
his
sole
representation
of
the
UK’s
blue
chip
index
led
some
to
dismiss
the
letter
as
lightweight.
The
remainder
of
the
FTSE
100
companies
are
staying
well
clear
of
endorsing
political
candidates
in
this
election.
The
Financial
Times
contacted
all
99
remaining
companies,
and,
of
the
58
that
responded,
34
said
they
were
not
supporting
any
party.
24
declined
to
comment.
Among
the
34
were
companies
ranging
from
AstraZeneca
(AZN)
to
BAE
Systems
(BA).
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