A LABOUR donor and former adviser to Andy Burnham has said he will not give another penny to his former party until Keir Starmer quits as Prime Minister. Sacha Lord, an entrepreneur who helped create the Parklife Festival and the Warehouse Project, told the Daily Express that he feels “duped” by Sir Keir, branding him “toxic”.
Mr Lord blasted: “I feel duped as a donor. I feel lied to, I feel conned. And as a Labour Party donor I would never ever give another penny to the Labour Party under it’s current leadership. I think it’s absolutely disgusting - just parking my sector to one side and we’re being absolutely crucified - we’ve got conversations about paedophilia and sex trafficking right to the heart of government. We are a global embarrassment at the moment.”
Mr Lord rallied support for Labour at the last election, insisting to colleagues in the hospitality industry that Ms Reeves would champion small independent businesses and boost the high street.
But he was shocked by the Chancellor’s immediate decision to raise employers’ National Insurance after the party’s landslide win, followed by the recent eye-watering hike to business rates.
Asked if he regrets his role in getting the party elected, Mr Lord said: “Absolutely. I bitterly regret it, I absolutely do.”
“I’ve never felt, in my sector, more concerned about what’s going to happen in the next - never mind two to three years - few months.
“She’s just not engaged - both herself and the PM - have not engaged hospitality in the slightest.”
He predicted that Sir Keir will be ousted in a leadership coup after the May local elections, predicting Labour will lose “so many really good hard-working councillors… through no fault of their own thanks to the PM and Rachel Reeves.”
“This is death by a thousand cuts… we’re watching the whole thing crumble”, he added.
"My values are still traditional Labour values, but this is not a traditional Labour Party. This is a Labour Party that’s completely out of control. I have no idea who’s running the country at the moment.
“They’re all making moves in the background to save their own jobs and careers, and what they need to be doing is running the country that I feel is the most divided and bitter it’s ever been.
He added that Keir Starmer has been notably absent from the ongoing by-election in Gorton and Denton, saying his failure to visit or campaign is proof of “how toxic he is”.
Mr Lord praised the interventions by both Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham at yesterday’s night-time economy conference in Liverpool, where Ms Rayner issued a surprising call for Ms Reeves to cut taxes and red tape for businesses.
The former Deputy Prime Minister warned that the Chancellor’s constant changes to rules and taxes on businesses risk undermining "confidence" in politics and politicians.
Appearing to position herself as more friendly to businesses ahead of an inevitable leadership campaign, she said: “Over the last few weeks, I've spoken candidly with businesses in my own constituency, and many beyond it, and they say it's a huge challenge that they're facing, and it's a challenge just to stay afloat.
"Customers aren't just there in the way they used to be, as business rates remain punishingly high, energy bills soar and costs in your supply chains and VAT bite."
Mr Lord said it was “so refreshing” to get such public support from Ms Rayner, warning yesterday was a “huge intervention”.
