Richard Walker, executive chairman of the frozen food retailer Iceland and newly appointed Labour peer, has warned that a lack of commercial understanding in government is creating unnecessary obstacles for businesses and limiting economic growth.
Speaking to reporters, Walker said too many politicians fail to grasp how businesses operate, particularly those with tight profit margins that employ thousands nationwide. “Very few understand how a business actually runs. There’s still a mindset in parts of government that treats profit like a dirty word, when profit is precisely what allows businesses to invest, employ people and pay tax,” he said.
Walker stressed that political suspicion of profit misunderstands how sustainable growth is created. For large employers such as Iceland, slim margins mean that policy decisions can have immediate effects on investment, job security and tax revenues. “Without profit, you don’t have reinvestment. You don’t have job security. And you certainly don’t have tax receipts. Yet too often policy is designed as if businesses are somehow the enemy, rather than the engine,” he said.
While some politicians are willing to learn, Walker said engagement is often superficial. “The best ones visit stores, talk to staff and understand the reality on the ground. But too many just want a photo opportunity and then disappear,” he said.
Walker also criticised Whitehall for conflicting policies across government departments, which create extra burdens for businesses. “From business rates to energy policy to food regulation, it’s a mess,” he said. “Defra is saying one thing about sustainability, the Treasury is saying another about taxation, and local councils are all doing their own thing. There’s no joined-up thinking, and businesses are the ones left trying to make it work.” He noted that employers with national footprints face the greatest challenges, having to navigate varying rules, costs and enforcement depending on location.
Walker is due to take his seat in the House of Lords this month. Both he and his father, Iceland founder Sir Malcolm Walker, previously supported the Conservatives. However, Walker said disagreements with former prime minister Rishi Sunak led him to reconsider where he could have the greatest impact. “I realised pretty quickly I’d be useless at toeing the party line. I tend to say what I actually think, which isn’t always compatible with frontline politics,” he said.
He rated Sir Keir Starmer’s government six out of ten, urging Labour to focus on “inclusive, everyday growth” rather than headline-grabbing projects. “It’s not about HS2 or a third runway at Heathrow. It’s about the cancelled bus route, crime on the high street, the loss of civic pride, the litter, the crumbling town hall,” Walker said.
For Walker, restoring growth depends on addressing the everyday realities that affect ordinary businesses and workers. “That’s where trust is built. The politics of the everyday. The politics of the ordinary. Get that right, and growth will follow,” he said.
