Leading businessman Iain Anderson quits Tories after almost 40 years over party’s ‘f*** business’ attitude and pledges support for Labour less than a year after resigning as Government’s LGBT ‘champion’

• Iain Anderson, of Cicero PR group, claims Tories are ‘not the party it used to be’
• He reveals backing for Labour’s Keir Starmer ahead of the next general election

A leading businessman has quit the Tories after nearly 40 years over the party’s ‘f*** business’ attitude and pledged his support for Labour.

Iain Anderson, founder of the Cicero public relations group, claimed the Conservatives are ‘not the party it used to be’ and revealed his backing for Sir Keir Starmer.

He is quitting after 39 years as a Tory party member and less than 18 months since he was appointed a Government ‘LGBT business champion’ by Boris Johnson.

‘The first thing is the party’s approach with business,’ Mr Anderson told the Financial Times of his reasons for leaving.

He said the Tories’ approach seemed to reflect Mr Johnson’s claimed ‘f*** business’ attitude over Brexit.

Iain Anderson, founder of the Cicero public relations group, claimed the Conservatives are ‘not the party it used to be’

He claimed Rishi Sunak’s Tories were planning to push a ‘culture war’ in the lead-up to the next general election

Mr Anderson revealed his backing for Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer after 39 years as a Tory party member

‘I’ve tried to understand why a Conservative leader could say that and nobody in the party blinked an eyelid about it,’ Mr Anderson added.

He also claimed the Tories were planning to push a ‘culture war’ in the lead-up to the next general election.

Mr Anderson is chair of the trustees of Stonewall, the LGBTQ+ campaign charity.

He resigned as the Government’s LGBT business champion in April last year after ministers initially said they would not ban transgender conversion therapy.

Mr Anderson said at the time he had ‘no choice’ but to tender his resignation with a ‘heavy heart’. 

Rishi Sunak has since reversed the Government’s stance since entering No10.

The Prime Minister has promised to legislate to ban conversion therapy for trans people, alongside existing plans to ban the practice on the basis of sexuality.

Mr Anderson resigned as the Government’s LGBT business champion in April last year after ministers initially said they would not ban transgender conversion therapy

But Mr Anderson was scathing of what he claimed would be the Tories’ approach to the next election.

‘It was made pretty clear the plan is to run a culture war to distract from fundamental economic failings,’ he added. ‘It’s not something I want any part of.’

He has opposed the Government’s decision to block the Scottish Parliament’s controversial gender identity reforms and claimed ministers were trying ‘to drive a wedge’ between transgender people and gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

A Conservative source said: ‘Iain, chair of the taxpayer-funded uber-woke culture warriors Stonewall, was furious about the Government’s use of section 35 to block Nicola Sturgeon’s radical gender self-ID proposals which undermine UK equalities law.

‘Given Keir Starmer’s support for similar laws for the whole of the UK, it’s unsurprising that he’s joining the Labour party. We wish him well.’

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