More than 120 business leaders have written an open letter giving their backing to Labour in the general election.

Senior figures, including chef Tom Kerridge and former CEOs of Heathrow, JP Morgan and Aston Martin, said the party had “shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK’s full economic potential”.

They said the public should now “give it the chance to change the country and lead Britain into the future”.

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Both Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves have long been making efforts to win over the business community since taking over the party from Jeremy Corbyn.

An open letter printed in the Times and signed by figures including the founders of Wikileaks Jimmy Wales and Koru Kids – the latter of which was once invested in by the prime minister’s wife – shows signs of success in the endeavour.

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In the letter, the business people said it was “time for a change” as “for too long now, our economy has been beset by instability, stagnation, and a lack of long-term focus”.

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They said the UK had “the potential to be one of the strongest economies in the world”, but a “lack of political stability and the absence of consistent economic strategy has held it back”.

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The leaders added: “We are looking for a government that will partner fiscal discipline with a long-term growth strategy, working in partnership with the private sector to drive innovation and investment to build digital and physical capital and fix our skills system.

“This is the only way to put us on track for sustained productivity growth.

“Labour has shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK’s full economic potential. We should now give it the chance to change the country and lead Britain into the future.

“We are in urgent need of a new outlook to break free from the stagnation of the last decade and we hope by taking this public stand we might persuade others of that need too.”

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