'Disappointed!' One of Labour's biggest donors slams Government's 'lack of boldness'

One of  Labour’s biggest donors has slammed the Government's “lack of boldness” in a blow to Sir Keir Starmer.

Ecotricity boss Dale Vince warned that ministers have not done enough “to bring down the cost of living”.

When asked whether Sir Keir is doing a good job as PM, Mr Vince said: “I think internationally, given the crazy things happening in the world, the management of [Donald] Trump he's been exceptionally good at. I'd say definitely, he's doing a great job internationally. The best we've had for a long time, I would say.

"Nationally, I would say I don't think enough has been done to bring down the cost of living. So that's a disappointment.”
Mr Vince added: “So I think not good enough on that front on the cost of living for sure. And overall, I'd say I'm disappointed in the lack of boldness after 14 years of Tory rule with a massive mandate to come in and change stuff.

“I think most people in the country probably are shrugging their shoulders and saying, 'well, what's changed'? And so I think Labour have to do two things, make bigger changes and communicate them better because there's also been a bit of a comms problem, I would say. That's just my honest view.”

Sir Keir has made the cost-of-living crisis a focus in recent months, with his Chancellor Rachel Reeves also saying the issue is her "number one focus".

Mr Vince warned it would “a disaster to have leadership change”, adding Sir Keir was elected in 2024 with a five-year mandate.
But the green energy boss, who has donated more than £5 million to Labour or its politicians, said he could boost the Green Party’s coffers.

He praised the “new direction” of the left-wing party under Zack Polanski.

Mr Vince, who called for a ban on all “corrosive” political donors, said: "I've given money to other progressive parties and that's my way. The Greens are trying to do a good job in the world, so are the Lib Dems, so are Labour. I like all of that. I have thought about helping the Greens...well helping both of them. I've thought about it recently, not for the election so much just to... I don't know, I like the new direction of the Green Party.

“It's exciting and dynamic. There's always the same old problem. Can they win in our two-party system? And I think come the election, you'd think probably not, but it could be the most fragmented and most tactical election that we've ever had. If you look at what happened in Wales when everybody got together to keep Reform out, we might see that kind of election. So, it's too soon to have a plan. But I'm always open to the idea of helping good people do good things. That's me.”

But Mr Vince called it a " stunningly stupid" system where the country's leaders are funded by a "handful of rich people".

He said: "We currently have with this enormous economy, the sixth biggest economy in the world and we allow our leaders to be funded based on the donations of a handful of rich people and then we hate it. We hate them for it. We suspect them of wanting something for themselves and so on and so forth."

Mr Vince has urged the government to introduce three changes that he said could halve energy bills and help with the cost of living.

He called for “breaking the link” between the price of gas and the cost of wind and sun, putting “an arm around the North Sea” by using a green pricing mechanism to protect jobs and rein in the mostly foreign-owned network operators who run the grid.

Mr Vince said: “Do all those three things together and we reckon we could have our electricity bills - about £300 or £400 a year.”