Green tycoon Dale Vince has accused Labour plotters of “a complete lack of loyalty” towards Sir Keir Starmer as he urged the party not to descend into a “Game of Thrones” fight for the top job.
Mr Vince, a party donor, suggested he was “disappointed” in ex-Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband after it was revealed the pair had called on Sir Keir to go.
Mr Miliband reportedly asked for the timetable ahead of the disastrous May elections.
A spokesman for the Energy Secretary had said, while they would not comment on "private conversations", they "do not accept this account".
Mr Vince said the current leadership situation was “ridiculous” and insisted Sir Keir should stay in place.
The Forest Green Rovers owner, who also founded energy company Ecotricity, had earlier commented to the BBC that he himself might be tempted to run as leader.
He said the suggestion was born from frustration around the Government’s plight – but he did not rule it out.
Mr Vince explained: “It was a crazy idea and a bit tongue in cheek - but there's a germ of ‘why not’ in there.
Green tycoon Dale Vince accused Labour plotters of 'a complete lack of loyalty' towards Sir Keir Starmer
|PA
"I can't say I'm serious, but I can't say I'm totally disregarding the idea.”
Mr Vince has never shied away from speaking out, with the 64-year-old publishing a book with a blueprint for a better future for the UK in 2020.
He said that this should be the Government’s aim, instead of infighting.
Mr Vince added: “Basically, I want to live in a better country. I’m frustrated by the pace of change.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The Prime Minister received Dale Vince's backing
|KEIR STARMER/X
He also criticised “the ridiculous nature” of the current leadership row, “with a group of people vying for the top job”.
Mr Vince added that it was this “anything goes” state of affairs that prompted him to talk about standing.
However, he added: “I back Keir Starmer to finish the job that he started.
“Keir Starmer was elected by the British public with a massive mandate less than two years ago.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting had a short meeting in Downing Street earlier this week
| REUTERS“Suddenly, we've got some adverse polling, and people are like, oh, oh, and, in Wes Streeting’s case, ‘I've lost confidence in him – I have to quit my job at which I've been very successful’.
“It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. He's helping the country with the NHS; lots of influence, yet he's out the door.
“You've got a lot of people jostling for the job, and I think partly I feel a sense of ridiculousness about the situation we are in.
“Nobody has the right or the mandate to try to seek to depose Keir Starmer. Only the British public really have that right.
Ed Miliband also came under fire Dale Vince
| GETTY“I know we've seen it happen before with other parties and other governments, but Labour should be better than that.
“And I'm so disappointed in the people that have been jostling. Wes, this week, with his resignation. Ed Miliband, with the briefing about asking the Prime Minister to set a timetable.”
He said of the current row: “There’s a complete lack of loyalty. I think Keir Starmer should stay.
"I think there shouldn't be a leadership contest. And I back Keir Starmer to finish the job that he started, deliver the manifesto that he got elected on. Yes, things have been tough. Yes, he's made mistakes.
“The background in the world with Trump 2.0, the Iran war, all that kind of stuff, hasn't helped, but our economy grew very strongly in the 1st quarter, and that news was out just this week, yesterday, and things aren't that bad. But it's been painted that way.”
Dale Vince is also owner of Ecotricity
| PAHe also referenced the last days of the Tories, which saw Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak occupy No10 before finally losing power.
He urged Labour not to follow suit, saying: “I think it would be a terrible mistake – it would be the Tory mistake.
“They made politics into a version of Game of Thrones and Labour shouldn't do this the same. I think the people agitating for this are either self-serving or weak.
“We ought to be able to face adverse polls. This is like midterms. We just have to say, all right, we get where the public are on this.
“We get the message and the message is do more, right? Not infight. Do more.”