Dozens more company bosses have signed a letter backing Tory economic plans – including a prominent former Labour supporter. By last night, a total of 150 business leaders have signed the letter warning against a ‘change in course’. Among the new signatories is Simon Woodroffe, the founder of Yo! Sushi and a former Labour backer. Dozens more company bosses have signed a letter backing Tory economic plans – including prominent former Labour supporter Simon Woodroffe, the founder of Yo! Sushi . Others also include executives from two FTSE-100 firms and 10 from the FTSE-250 index. Adding their names were Philip Aiken, the chairman of construction giant Balfour Beatty, Dr Tom Enders, boss of Airbus, and Simon Litherland, head of drinks group Britvic. All have signed in a personal capacity. The announcement of the new names will heap pressure on Labour, which has struggled to come forward with notable numbers of business supporters. Once a former prominent Labour supporter, Mr Woodroffe appears to have turned his back on the party despite appearing in a 2004 political broadcast. Earlier this year, he warned that Labour’s approach to business ‘scares’ him. He told BBC Newsnight: ‘What I worry about with Ed Miliband is that he is appealing to the popular by saying, “look at all these fat cats” making lots of money it should be for the workers.’ ‘Actually, I think the fat cats generally, sometimes it annoys me, but they pay their taxes, you know.’ By last night, a total of 150 business leaders have signed the letter warning against a ‘change in course’ The letter backs the lowering of corporation tax by David Cameron and George Osborne as it shows the UK is 'open for business' The letter states that the signatories believe the Conservative-led government ‘has been good for business and pursued policies which have supported investment and job creation’. They praise the cuts in corporation tax to 20 per cent, which they say is a ‘key part’ of the Tory economic plan. They add: ‘We believe a change in course will threaten jobs and deter investment. This would send a negative message about Britain and put the recovery at risk.’ When the letter was first published in a newspaper last week it sent shockwaves through the election campaign. Labour attempted to respond by positioning itself as the party of workers. It announced plans to ban 90 per cent of zero hours contracts and make it easier for staff to sue their bosses for wrongful dismissal. A poll of FTSE-100 chairman at the weekend showed seven out of ten think Mr Miliband would be a ‘catastrophe’ for Britain. The anonymous poll, published by the Sunday Times, showed widespread concern by businesses about Labour’s economic plans.
Yo! Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe is among new signatories of letter .
He is a former Labour backer and appeared in a 2004 political broadcast .
Total of 150 business leaders have signed the letter praising the Tories .
The announcement will heap more pressure on Labour and Ed Miliband .