I'm nervous of Labour's direction, says donor

Labour's most high-profile billionaire backer, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, has said he is "increasingly nervous" about the government's direction and is in "despair of politicians".

- Jessica Elgot

John Caudwell, the Phones 4u founder, said Labour's winter fuel payments cut was a "fiasco" and ministers were not doing nearly enough to attract investment into the UK.

Speaking to the Guardian, Caudwell, who has pledged to give away more than 70% of his £1.58bn fortune, also said a wealth tax would be "very destructive" to growth.

The businessman - a prominent Brexiter who backed the Conservative party for many years - said he could never support Nigel Farage's Reform UK because he was convinced of the need to tackle the climate crisis and urged Labour to be bolder on net zero.

Caudwell was speaking at the launch of a report from his charity, Caudwell Youth, urging more investment in early intervention in the lives of disadvantaged young people - and a renewed focus on mental health.

He said that despite his background in mobile phones, he believed social media and AI were a "disaster" for anxiety and feared a world where AI fakes were the norm.

Caudwell said he welcomed some key changes from Labour, including to pension funds, planning changes and green energy, although he said schemes such as Great British Energy could go further and were "lacking in ambition".

He said Labour had been poor at telling the right story and the winter fuel saga and the welfare rebellion had been unnerving. "They're just going to be tossed from pillar to post, that's how it feels," he said.