Billionaire businessman John Caudwell, who defected to Labour ahead of the 2024 general election, has declared that Kemi Badenoch is leading the "only electable party" as he considers returning his support to the Conservatives.
The Phones 4u founder, who is worth more than £1.5 billion, said he has been left "very disappointed" by successive Labour Budget tax raids and branded policies associated with Andy Burnham as "piffle".
Issuing an early verdict on Mr Burnham, Mr Caudwell said: "At the moment, the only electable party to me seems to be the Conservatives again." He added, "I do not think the Labour Party is electable," warning that Mr Burnham's policies will fail to attract investment into Britain.
Mr Caudwell urged Ms Badenoch to pledge tax cuts aimed at attracting environmentally friendly technology businesses from around the world. However, the eco-minded donor made clear that returning his financial backing to the Conservatives remains conditional on Ms Badenoch altering her stance on green issues.
Addressing her decision to drop the Conservative Party's support for Net Zero, Mr Caudwell said the Tory leader is "not really there on the environment properly yet."
"But if she looks like getting into power, I will be doing my best to influence her to become more climate change-orientated, but not as a cost centre, but as a profit centre," Mr Caudwell said. He added: "I would like the Conservatives to really get their act together and put into practice a lot of the things that I have been preaching."
Past support for Boris Johnson and Labour defection
Mr Caudwell previously gave £500,000 to former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2019 to prevent what he called "the disaster that would have been Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street."
A passionate Brexiteer, Mr Caudwell nevertheless defected to Labour prior to the 2024 general election, stating that the Conservatives' record in government had left him in "despair." He blamed the "failures" of three Tory prime ministers and praised the "transformation" of the party under Sir Keir Starmer.
At the time of his defection, Mr Caudwell called on voters to put a "very strong Labour government" into office "that can take extremely bold decisions."
Growing disillusionment with Starmer and Reeves
His emphatic backing for the Labour Party lasted for just one year. In July 2025, Mr Caudwell emerged to warn that he was "increasingly nervous" about the direction of the government following the Winter Fuel Payments "fiasco."
He has since accused the government and Chancellor Rachel Reeves of driving entrepreneurs and wealthy investors out of Britain through higher taxes.
In June, Mr Caudwell joined more than 100 business leaders in writing a joint letter to the government. The letter warned that Labour's changes to National Insurance, capital gains tax, and business relief amounted to a "death by a thousand cuts" for companies.
Refusal to back Reform UK
Despite his sharp criticism of Labour's economic policies, Mr Caudwell confirmed he could never support Nigel Farage and Reform UK because of their total opposition to green initiatives, which they refer to as "Net Stupid Zero."
