Supermarket chain Iceland’s CEO Richard Walker has resigned from the UK’s Conservative Party, citing it as “out of touch” and losing touch with business and consumers. Speaking ahead of the annual Conservative conference in Manchester, Walker said the party was “drifting out of touch” with the environment, business and the everyday people.
Although the Conservatives declined to comment on the situation, sources claimed that Walker had criticised the government in public on several occasions. They added that he and his father had lobbied senior party figures over the summer in an attempt to secure a parliamentary seat. Walker’s father Sir Malcolm founded Iceland supermarket chain.
74-year-old Sir Malcolm said he had no involvement in his son’s political ambitions and claimed he had no idea about the situation. As for Richard, he has been on the Conservatives’ approved list of parliamentary candidates previously.
Announcing his resignation from the party, Walker criticised the “sluggish economy” and high levels of regional inequality and proceeded to accuse the Conservatives of not conserving anything at all. He refused to wear a gag to secure a seat and declared that he would not change his principles to suit a party that had lost its way.
The resignation of Richard Walker has come as a surprise to many as his outspoken views on social and environmental issues have made headlines in recent months. While discussing the impact of rising prices on customers, he mentioned how some have been forced to visit food banks. Earlier this week, he apologised after claiming that three staff of the retailer contracted HIV due to needle attacks
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