In a political pivot that would feel right at home in Kenya’s dynamic electoral landscape, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to appoint supermarket magnate Richard Walker to the House of Lords. The move completes a high-profile defection that has seen one of the UK’s most recognizable business leaders cross the floor from Conservative hopeful to Labour peer in just three years.

The appointment, expected later this month, signals a strategic tightening of the relationship between the Labour government and big business. For Walker, the Executive Chairman of frozen food giant Iceland, the elevation to the upper house is the culmination of a rapid ideological journey that mirrors the fluid alliances often seen in Nairobi’s corridors of power.

A High-Stakes About-Face

Walker’s path to the red benches of the Lords has been anything but linear. As recently as 2022, he was a registered candidate for the Conservative Party, having donated nearly £10,000 (approx. KES 1.7 million) to the party in July 2020 during Boris Johnson’s premiership.

However, the relationship soured publicly and dramatically. By 2023, Walker had abandoned the Tories, arguing the party had “drifted badly out of touch” with the economic realities facing ordinary citizens. His criticism centered on the cost-of-living crisis—a struggle familiar to Kenyan households—where he felt the government had failed to protect the most vulnerable.

“Labour needed to focus on inclusive growth and everyday growth that could trickle down in everyday people’s lives,” Walker noted earlier this year, famously rating Starmer’s government a “six out of 10” in February—a sign that his support comes with critical expectations rather than blind loyalty.

The Business of Politics

Walker’s entry into the legislature is expected to bring a sharp focus on retail economics and trade relations. As a peer, he will reportedly push for:

• Closer EU Relations: repairing trade barriers that have complicated supply chains since Brexit.
• Cost of Living Support: advocating for policies that ease the burden on working-class families.
• Green Economy: leveraging his corporate background to push for sustainable business practices.

The appointment also carries a dynastic element. Walker took the reins of Iceland Foods in 2023 from his father, Malcolm Walker, who founded the chain in 1973. Both men have a history of supporting the Conservatives, making Richard’s defection a significant symbolic victory for Starmer’s Labour Party as it seeks to cement its economic credibility.

While critics may view the appointment as political patronage, analysts suggest it reflects a broader pragmatism in UK politics. Walker’s transition from donor to detractor to lawmaker underscores a reality well-understood in Kenya: in the high-stakes world of governance, interests often supersede permanent allegiances.