Lord Sugar quits the Labour party

Lord Sugar had been associated with the party for 18 years, and was named the then-Labour government's 'Enterprise Champion' in 2009. He has served in the House of Lords for six years and says he intends to continue his role as a peer.

"I informed the party on Friday of my decision to resign which they accepted as they had been aware of my disillusionment for some time," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"In the past year I found myself losing confidence in the party due to their negative business policies and the general anti-enterprise concepts they were considering if they were to be elected," he added. "I expressed this to the most senior figures in the party several times."

The Apprentice star went on to explain that he first "signed on" to Labour in 1997, brought in by Gordon Brown, but felt that the party were shifting away from the enterprise policies of New Labour. He says he made up his mind to resign from the Labour party at the start of this year, "whatever the outcome of the general election."

"However," he added, "I am a loyal person and rather than use my decision to possibly damage the party's chances in the election, I decided, as a relatively high-profile individual, to keep my intentions quiet for the duration of the campaign."

He said he preferred to "remain quiet" on the issue throughout the election campaign, adding that "I have no wish to stick the boot into the party. There are many good people in Labour working hard every day to serve the public".

He concluded, "I intend to continue in the House of Lords, representing the interests of business and enterprise in the UK."

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