A major Tory donor who backed Boris Johnson before the last election has openly questioned whether he should survive as Conservative leader, as another poll confirmed a clear poll lead for Labour.
John Caudwell, the billionaire founder of Phones4U who handed the Tories £500,000 before the last election, said he had been hugely disappointed by “the mistakes and faux pas” made by No 10 and said he did not know if Johnson could or should lead the party into the next election.
With Tory MPs openly speculating about who might replace Johnson, Caudwell said he had been particularly alarmed by Johnson’s initial attempt to protect former cabinet minister Owen Paterson from punishment after he was found to have lobbied ministers.
“What really concerns me is this sleaze issue and him not standing firmly enough against what’s gone on,” he told the Observer. “I was unbelievably disappointed when I heard him almost defending and ... trying to find an out for Owen Paterson. [However,] I like him as a charismatic leader. It’s a very, very positive thing to have somebody who feels down to earth, so I like Boris from that point of view.
“I’m not sure he can survive this, and I’m not even sure he should survive it. If he cleaned his act up and made it clear to MPs that they cannot take money from other sources, and started trying to get the government on a very ethical, whiter-than-white basis, I guess I would still support him. But I suppose the question you’ve really got to answer is, is it in his character to do so?”
Caudwell also warned he would not continue to support the party should it continue to be hit by allegations of sleaze. “Whoever can rule this country properly, in my view, I will vote for,” he said. “I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative that will stay Conservative. I will vote for anybody that I believe has got the right set of principles to keep Britain great. The Conservative party can’t take my support for granted.”
It comes as the latest Opinium poll for the Observer found that Labour retains a comfortable seven-point lead over the Tories following controversies over Paterson, the refurbishment of the prime minister’s Downing St flat and various claims of lockdown parties in Whitehall and No 10. Labour is on 39% of the vote, with the Tories on 32%.
The prime minister’s personal approval ratings continue to be in the doldrums at -31%, though it is an improvement from the record low of -35% recorded two weeks ago. Some 24% approve of the job he is doing, with 55% disapproving. Keir Starmer’s approval rating stands at +4%, the highest since the end of April.
Starmer has also taken the lead on who voters see as the best prime minister, leading 30% to 24% over Johnson. However, still both trail the 34% who opted for “none of these”. After a similar lead a fortnight ago, it represents the strongest run of leads on this question Opinium has shown for Starmer.
While Caudwell said he did not think there was an obvious successor to Johnson, he criticised chancellor Rishi Sunak for his handling of the economy during the Covid crisis, arguing that the furlough scheme had made some people better off while ignoring others. He also praised Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, seen as a frontrunner to replace Johnson.
“When you’re thinking about a new leader, there’s nobody that actually strikes me as being the right person,” he said. “I think Liz Truss could be that person. Rishi is very popular among a lot of the country because he has put money in people’s pockets. Has he done it really intelligently and got the best results out of my tax pounds? No, he hasn’t. Without doubt, he has not done that.
“I’ve not been extremely complimentary about the Conservative party these last two years. But I still believe that it’s the best party to run this country, and I’d be terrified of the Lib Dems getting in and even more terrified of Labour.”
Caudwell said he had held talks with the chancellor about his own plans for helping Britain through the pandemic, including investing in future infrastructure, green industry and apprenticeships.
He also called on billionaires to add their name to a commitment to give away the vast majority of their wealth. “At the moment, there’s too few,” he said. “Governments need to do everything in their power to encourage people’s voluntary philanthropic giving in that way. Because what difference would it make to me, Jeff Bezos, or Elon Musk, or any of them to pledge their wealth? You don’t need to give it away until you die. And if you decide to give most of it away before, then you’ve got the privilege and the pride of making a huge difference to people’s lives. Why would you not do it? I can’t even begin to comprehend why people don’t do that.”
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