Major Tory donor threatens to go Labour over ‘madness’ of Sunak’s net zero U-turn

A major Conservative Party donor has threatened to switch his allegiance to Labour over the “madness” of Rishi Sunak’s net zero U-turn.

Billionaire John Caudwell was the party’s largest donor before the last election, but he has now said that there is “no chance whatsoever” he will support Mr Sunak after the changes he made on an array of green policies earlier this week.

In 2019, the founder of former mobile phone retailer Phones4U gave £500,000 to the party. According to The Sunday Times Rich List 2022, Mr Caudwell is worth £1.58 billion, and was ranked 984 on the Forbes 2022 list of the world’s billionaires, which listed his net worth as $2.8 billion.

This week, Mr Sunak jettisoned an extensive list of net zero pledges including delaying a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars until 2035 and introducing diluted targets for the phasing out of gas boilers.

He announced the UK will stick by its net-zero commitment but rolled back existing measures designed to keep the country on track to meet its climate goals by 2050. Mr Sunak argued that these policies imposed “unacceptable costs” on ordinary people, though this is a claim that climate experts strongly refute.

The prime minister was widely mocked for axing policies that did not actually exist – such as theoretical new taxes on meat or “compulsory” car sharing.

In The Sunday Times, Mr Caudwell has said he was “beyond shocked” at the “madness” of Mr Sunak’s reversal on green reforms introduced by former prime minister Boris Johnson.

“If Rishi sticks to this, would I donate to the Conservative Party? Absolutely not,” he said. “No chance whatsoever with the decisions they are making at the moment.

“Would I switch to Labour? The answer to that is very simple: I will support any party that I believe will do the right thing for Britain going forward”, he added.

The billionaire said he was “horrified” by the changes Mr Sunak has made to the party’s green policies, noting that the decision “moves the Conservatives back a long way.”

“Whatever chance they had of winning the next election, this moves them backwards”, he added, “It shows inconsistency. It shows lack of determination. It’s depressing.”