Iceland boss Richard Walker has quit the Conservatives as he accused the party of “drifting out of touch” during the cost of living crisis and showing an “inability to deliver”.
The Conservative donor, who is one of the party’s leading business supporters, criticised Rishi Sunak for “flip-flopping” on net zero and HS2.
“It’s a really tough decision. I’ve always naturally assumed that Conservatives support business. What I was seeing coming out of the party was really conflicting with what I was seeing as a businessman,” the 43-year-old executive chairman told The Times.
Mr Walker, 43, had previously been trying to become a candidate for the Conservative Party to enter the House of Commons for several months and was on the approved candidate list.
Earlier this summer, he appeared to suggest that he was wavering on his decision to stand as a Conservative MP. When asked in June about his plans at the next general election, he told Radio 4: “It is of course a really challenging time for our customers so that is 100pc of my focus, so we’ll see what happens in the future.”
He said he become uneasy about the idea of standing for the Tories because of "flip-flopping" on key policies and ministers’ "rhetoric" about immigration and climate change. He said Mr Sunak’s decision to water down net zero targets - pushing back a ban on petrol and diesel car sales from 2030 to 2035 - was the "final straw".
Mr Walker also condemned the idea of ditching HS2’s northern leg from Birmingham to Manchester. "UK plc needs stability and certainty and the issue is there’s just been so much flipflopping," he said. "Take HS2. I’m no fan of HS2 - but it’s better to do it than half do it."
Mr Sunak was later challenged on Mr Walker’s comments during an appearance on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
He replied: “Change may be uncomfortable for people. People may be critical of it, but I believe on doing the right thing for the country.
“I’m not going to shy away from that. If I believe the right thing to do is to chart a new course for net zero that will save ordinary families £5,000, £10,000, £15,000, £20,000, I’m going to do it.
“I’m a Conservative, of course I want to cut taxes. The best tax cut that I can deliver for the British people right now is to halve inflation.”
Mr Walker, whose father founded the high street supermarket chain, announced his bid to stand as a Tory MP last year. He was awarded an OBE for services to business and the environment in the months before his announcement.
