AO.com founder John Roberts is calling on Keir Starmer to step down, launching a sweeping attack on Labour’s economic strategy and warning Britain risks falling further behind unless ministers radically change course.
The billionaire entrepreneur said the country was “broken” and accused the Government of failing to support wealth creation, investment and business growth.
Roberts, whose online electrical retailer generates more than £1.1bn in annual revenues, said Labour had created an anti-business climate that risked damaging economic confidence at a time of mounting pressure on growth and investment.
Speaking to The Sun, the 52-year-old businessman argued Britain needed a far more pro-enterprise agenda and warned ministers they must “back business, or watch Britain fall further behind”.
The intervention adds to growing criticism of Labour’s economic direction from parts of the business community as concerns rise over weak growth, higher taxes and slowing investment.
Roberts, who famously founded AO.com after a £1 pub bet in Bolton, said profit was being unfairly demonised despite businesses being responsible for creating jobs, investment and tax revenues.
“Without profit, businesses cannot invest, hire more people or take the risks that grow the economy,” he said.
He also claimed Labour lacked policies capable of genuinely generating wealth, recalling a conversation with a senior Labour MP whom he challenged to name a government policy that had directly created prosperity.
“He could not name one,” Roberts said.
The entrepreneur criticised rising bureaucracy, housing shortages, NHS waiting lists and increasing welfare dependency, arguing that they reflected a country moving in the wrong economic direction.
Roberts proposed a series of measures aimed at boosting growth and investment, including reversing recent increases in employer National Insurance contributions to encourage hiring.
He also called for a simplified flat inheritance tax rate of 10pc, expanded domestic energy production through North Sea drilling, and the return of the Help to Buy housing scheme.
On healthcare, Roberts suggested introducing rapid online booking for face-to-face GP appointments, alongside charges for missed appointments, to reduce pressure on the NHS.
He additionally argued that VAT should be removed from private school fees and backed the restoration of the two-child benefit cap.
The businessman said welfare should operate primarily as a temporary safety net rather than a long-term source of income for those out of work.
“It is not the responsibility of hard-working people to foot the bill for those who choose not to work,” he said.
Roberts also expressed sympathy with some positions associated with Reform UK, reflecting growing frustration among some business leaders over taxation, regulation and economic competitiveness.
His remarks come amid mounting political pressure on Starmer following poor local election results, rising borrowing costs and growing unrest within Labour’s own ranks over the Government’s economic messaging and direction.
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