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The formerly Conservative-supporting boss of the supermarket Iceland is to be made a Labour peer when the party appoints another 25 representatives<\/a> to parliament\u2019s upper house later this month.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer will appoint Richard Walker to the House of Lords<\/a>, the Guardian understands, the culmination of an unusual and rapid political transformation for someone named as a prospective Tory MP candidate a little over three years ago.<\/p>\n It was only February this year when Iceland\u2019s executive chair was rating Starmer\u2019s government six out of 10<\/a>, saying that Labour needed to focus on \u201cinclusive growth and everyday growth\u201d that could \u201ctrickle down in everyday people\u2019s lives\u201d.<\/p>\n As a Labour<\/a> peer, Walker will get the chance to push for policies close to his heart including closer relations with the EU and also for a more positive message on the economy.<\/p>\n He took over the leadership of Iceland in 2023 after his father, Malcolm Walker, stepped down from the frozen foods chain he had founded in 1973. Both men have previously expressed support for the Conservative party and have donated money to it<\/a>.<\/p>\n Richard Walker donated nearly \u00a310,000 in July 2020, when Boris Johnson was prime minister during the Covid pandemic. He was then added to a list of approved parliamentary candidates for the party in 2022, only to perform an abrupt about-turn the following year.<\/p>\n Writing in the Guardian<\/a> in 2023, Walker said the Conservatives had \u201cdrifted badly out of touch with business and the economy, and with the everyday needs of the British people\u201d.<\/p>\n He then backed Keir Starmer<\/a> in early 2024, saying that \u201cafter a lot of soul-searching\u201d he had decided he had \u201cexactly what it takes to be a great leader\u201d. Walker\u2019s comments did not, however, suggest a would-be Labour politician. He said the Tories\u2019 abandonment of \u201cbasic Conservative principles\u201d had added to his disenchantment.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, his appointment as a Labour peer, first reported by the Sun, would add a rare business voice in support of Starmer\u2019s government, which has irked several sectors by raising national insurance. The Conservative party counts another retail boss, Simon Wolfson of Next, among its peers.<\/p>\n