Tom Kerridge among business leaders calling for change in government

Tom Kerridge is among business leaders who have signed a letter that calls for a change in government to address the economy, which they said had “been beset by instability, stagnation and a lack of long-term focus”.

The letter to The Times, signed by 120 founders and chief executives, said that “Labour has shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK’s full economic potential”.

Signatories include Freuds Group chairman Matthew Freud, who is behind the Bull at Burford, along with bosses from JP Morgan, Aston Martin, JD Sports and WPP.

They said: “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 past decade and we hope by taking this public stand we might persuade others of that need too.”