Tech leaders sign letter backing Labour’s election plans

Tech leaders, including the founder of Wikipedia, have signed a letter from 121 business chiefs backing the Labour Party’s economic plans ahead of the UK’s  4 July General Election.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales was among several tech founders, chief executives, and former leaders who backed a letter saying Labour has changed and “wants to work with business” on long-term growth.

They said the public should now “give it the chance to change the country and lead Britain into the future”.

Wales – interviewed by TechInformed last year – told the BBC’s Today Programme he is “very convinced” by Labour.

“We’re not talking about an extreme left-wing government by any means. We’re talking about a sensible, solid centrist government,” he added.

It comes as part of Labour leader Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves’ efforts to position the party — heavy favourites for the upcoming general election — to win over the business community.

Other tech leaders to have put their names to the letter include Tunde Adenrian, co-founder of AI-powered data platform Lerno; Amul Batra, co-founder of tech talent firm Northcoders Group; David Brindley, president at auction software firm Bidpath; Phil Chambers, CEO of UK aerospace firm Orbex; Mark Claydon, director at Trustech Smart Healthcare Ventures;  David Cleevely, former chair of Raspberry Pi; Alasdair Croft, managing director at electric charging firm AmpEV; Mark Dickinson, CEO of Intrinsic Semiconductor Technologies; and Helen Guillaume, CEO of wild.AI.

Overall, more than 120 business leaders from across tech, finance, culture and other industries signed the letter, with big names also including celebrity chef Tom Kerridge and the former CEOs of Heathrow, JP Morgan and Aston Martin.

The open letter, published in The Times, said it was “time for a change” as “for too long now, our economy has been beset by instability, stagnation, and a lack of long-term focus”.

The leaders added: “We are looking for a government that will partner fiscal discipline with a long-term growth strategy, working in partnership with the private sector to drive innovation and investment to build digital and physical capital and fix our skills system.

“This is the only way to put us on track for sustained productivity growth.

“Labour has shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK’s full economic potential. We should now give it the chance to change the country and lead Britain into the future.

“We are in urgent need of a new outlook to break free from the stagnation of the last decade and we hope by taking this public stand we might persuade others of that need too.”

The UK is due to go to the polls on July 4 after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dissolved Parliament and called for a general election on Thursday. It will be the first election since 2019 when Boris Johnson led the Conservative Party to a large majority.