A lack of commercial understanding within the government makes it difficult for companies to operate and is actively slowing economic growth, the Icelandic boss says.
Richard Walker, the frozen food retailer’s chief executive and a newly appointed Labor peer, has warned that too many politicians fail to understand how businesses actually work – particularly those that operate on slim profit margins and employ thousands of people across the country.
“I’ve met a lot of legislators over the years,” Walker said. “Very few understand how a business actually works. There is still a mindset in parts of government that treats profit like a dirty word, when profit is the very thing that allows companies to invest, employ people and pay taxes.”
Walker argued that political profiteering misunderstands the way sustainable growth is created. For large employers like Iceland – which operates in all regions of the UK – margins are slim and policy decisions can have immediate, real consequences.
“Without profit, there is no reinvestment. There is no job security. And certainly no tax revenue,” he said. “But all too often, politics is framed as if corporations were somehow the enemy and not the driving force.”
While he acknowledged that some politicians are genuinely willing to learn, Walker said too many engage superficially.
“The best ones go into the stores, talk to the employees and understand the reality on the ground,” he said. “But too many people just want a photo opportunity and then disappear.”
Walker’s criticism extended beyond individual ministers to what he described as a structural problem across Whitehall, where departments have conflicting goals and little coordination.
“From business rates to energy policy to food regulation, it’s a mess,” he said. “Defra says one thing about sustainability, the Treasury says another about taxes, and all councils do their own thing. There is no unified thinking and the companies are the ones trying to make it work.”
He said this lack of consistency disproportionately hurts employers with a national footprint because they have to deal with different rules, costs and enforcement approaches depending on their ZIP code.
Walker is due to take his seat in the House of Lords this month, marking a notable political shift. Both he and his father, Icelandic founder Sir Malcolm Walker, previously supported the Conservatives, with Walker donating to the party and briefly appearing on the list of approved candidates.
However, his relationship with the Conservatives cooled after a disagreement with former prime minister Rishi Sunak, leading to a reassessment of where he thought his voice could be most effective.
“I realized pretty quickly that I would be useless if I toed the party line,” Walker said. “I tend to say what I actually think, which is not always consistent with frontline politics.”
Earlier this year he gave Sir Keir Starmer’s government a six out of 10 rating and urged Labor to prioritize what he called “inclusive, everyday growth” over headline-grabbing projects.
Walker said the government’s obsession with megaprojects risks missing out on what really matters to businesses and communities.
“This is not about HS2 or a third runway at Heathrow, projects that may never be implemented, certainly not in my lifetime,” he said. “It’s about the canceled bus route, the crime on the main street, the loss of civic pride, the trash, the crumbling town hall.”
For Walker, restoring growth means focusing on the fundamentals that affect ordinary businesses and workers every day.
“That’s where trust comes from,” he said. “The politics of the everyday. The politics of the ordinary. Get this right and growth will follow.”
