Dale Vince, the green energy tycoon and a major donor to the Labour Party, has accused senior party figures of showing “a complete lack of loyalty” towards Sir Keir Starmer, as he urged the party not to repeat what he called the “Tory mistake” of turning politics into a “Game of Thrones” battle for the top job.
Vince specifically expressed disappointment with former Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, both of whom have reportedly called on Starmer to go. Streeting resigned on Thursday, 14 May 2026, saying he had lost confidence in Starmer’s leadership and calling for “the best possible field of candidates”. Allies have indicated he is preparing to launch a formal leadership challenge. Miliband, who led Labour between 2010 and 2015, is said by allies to have the numbers to stand if a contest is triggered, and he has reportedly asked for a timetable for Starmer’s departure. A spokesman for Miliband declined to comment on “private conversations” but said the account was not accepted.
“There’s a complete lack of loyalty,” Vince said. “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.” He added that only the British public had the right to depose a prime minister elected with a “massive mandate” less than two years ago.
Vince saved his most sustained criticism for the “ridiculous nature” of the current leadership row and the “group of people vying for the top job”. He described Streeting’s resignation as baffling, given the Health Secretary’s success in helping the NHS. “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.”
The 64-year-old founder of Ecotricity and owner of Forest Green Rovers FC also admitted that his own frustration with the pace of change had led him to toy with the idea of running for leader himself. In comments to the BBC, he described the notion as “a crazy idea and a bit tongue in cheek – but there’s a germ of ‘why not’ in there”. “I can’t say I’m serious, but I can’t say I’m totally disregarding the idea,” he said. “Basically, I want to live in a better country. I’m frustrated by the pace of change.”
Vince, whose net worth was estimated at £107 million in 2022, has been a substantial financial backer of Labour. Ecotricity has donated nearly £3.4 million to the party since 2021, with around £5 million given during the last general election campaign. He has also donated to environmental protest groups including Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd. His political giving has drawn scrutiny, with Conservative politicians suggesting his donations may have influenced Labour’s energy policy on North Sea oil and gas. Last year, Vince faced condemnation for social media posts after the Bondi Beach terror attack in December 2025, which appeared to link the attack to “Israel committing Genocide in Palestine”; he later described the timing as “a cock-up, not conspiracy” and insisted his words were not intended to excuse or legitimise terrorism.
Despite his frustrations, Vince insisted he was not serious about standing and remained fully behind Starmer. He pointed to positive economic news – the UK economy grew strongly in the first quarter of this year – and argued that the party should focus on delivery rather than internal plotting. “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.”
Vince concluded by drawing a stark warning from the Conservatives’ recent history, in which Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak each occupied No 10 before the party lost power. “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.”
