Iceland boss quits plan to become Tory MP

Iceland boss, Richard Walker, has reportedly quit plans to become a Conservative MP as he accused the party of having “drifted badly out of touch” with the needs of the British people.

Walker, whose father founded the supermarket chain Iceland, announced his plans to stand as a Tory MP last year and was on the approved candidate list. 

But in an op-ed written for The Guardian, he admitted that his personal principles and views are now clashing with those of the Conservative party, something which he is not ready to compromise on. 

Walker said that the idea of becoming an MP started to fade after disapproving the party’s approach to net zero and the environment, issues which he is particularly fond of considering Iceland’s ambition to become net zero from 2040.

In the op-ed he wrote: “It is plain that the prime minister has no real interest in green issues and his recent row-back on carbon reduction deadlines was a desperate attempt to ‘turn the environment into a US-style political wedge issue’.

“Just to focus on major projects beginning with “H” – Hinkley Point, Heathrow and HS2 – the Government’s evident inability to deliver is devastating to both its credibility and to business confidence. Who can sensibly make the long-term investment decisions that are vital to our future prosperity when the goalposts are constantly changing?”

Walker denied speculations that he will be joining the Labour party instead, and has said that he remains “open to persuasion on who to support at the next general election.”

In his piece, he also recalled having initially joined the Conservatives because “they were the natural party of free enterprise” and due to his personal belief that “conservatism went hand-in-hand with conservation”. 

Yet, he now admits that the party has failed to deliver on its promises causing a “sluggish economy” much worse than the one the country was in 13 years ago when the Conservatives returned to power. 

He wrote: “Today’s reality is that we have a nominally Conservative government, yet I struggle to name a single thing they are actually conserving.

“Certainly not the business sector or our economy, the vitality of our high streets or the safety of my retail colleagues, our farming and rural communities, our rivers and seas, our net zero obligations, our NHS, our schools, our reputation for decency and fairness, or the future prosperity of our kids and grandkids.”