More than 100 business leaders including Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales sign open letter backing Britain's center-left opposition

• More than 100 business figures on Tuesday voiced their support for the U.K.'s center-left opposition Labour Party, as the country heads for a general election.
• Individuals including Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, former vice-chairman of JP Morgan Cazenove Charles Harman, and WPP's U.K. President Karen Blackett signed an open letter calling for a "change" in government.
• The U.K. economy has suffered from a decade of stagnation in the absence of both political stability and of a consistent long-term economic strategy under the Conservatives, the letter says.

LONDON — More than 100 business leaders on Tuesday voiced their support for the U.K.'s center-left opposition Labour Party, nearly five weeks before the country heads to the polls.

The group, which includes Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and former vice-chairman of JP Morgan Cazenove Charles Harman, said in an open letter to The Times newspaper: "We, as leaders and investors in British business, believe it is time for a change."

The writers of the letter claim that the U.K. economy has suffered from a decade of stagnation amid a lack of both political stability and a long-term, consistent economic strategy. The country has been "denied the skills and infrastructure it needs to flourish," the letter says.

The Labour Party has "shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK's full economic potential," they said.

Signatories also include WPP's U.K. President Karen Blackett, JD Sports and British Retail Consortium Chair Andrew Higginson, and the former CEOs of Tesco Bank and Heathrow Airport. Few current FTSE 250 chief executives appear on the list.

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