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Person

Dale Vince

Nationality:

English
Born:

1961
Occupation:

Energy Industrialist
Party:

Labor Party (U.K)
Spouse:

Kate Vince

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Dale Vince is an environmental activist and energy industrialist who is the owner of Ecotricity and the chairman of the English soccer team Forest Green Rovers. 1 Vince has donated large sums of money to left-of-center organizations and political parties in the United Kingdom including the Labour Party, the United Kingdom’s main left-of-center political party and the environmentalist protest groups Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion. 2

Vince had a net worth of around £107 million (around $129 million) as of 2015, while Ecotricity was worth £57 million (approximately $68.8 million) as of that year. 1

Early Life

Dale Vince is an environmental activist and energy industrialist. Born in Norfolk, England, in 1961, Vince left school at 15 to join a “peace convoy” of hippies. 1

Vince married his first wife, Kathleen Wyatt, in 1981 at the age of 19. The couple had a son in 1983, separated in 1984, and then divorced in 1992. Wyatt raised their son while Vince drove to Spain with a new partner. 1

After his divorce from Wyatt in 1992, Vince traded an old fire engine, which he used to travel to Spain, for an old ambulance. Vince powered the ambulance with a homemade wind turbine, which would be an inspiration for his future energy company, Ecotricity. Vince attended the Glastonbury Festival in 1994 where he used a windmill attached to a pylon to charge mobile phone batteries. 1

Vince took out an undisclosed bank loan to create his wind turbine business Ecotricity in 1996. The company had almost 200,000 customers as of 2017 and had an annual revenue of £126.5 million (approximately $152.1 million) in 2016. 3 4

Vince had a net worth of around £107 million (around $129 million) as of 2015, while Ecotricity was worth £57 million (approximately $68.8 million) as of that year. Vince reportedly owns a sports car and lives in an 18th-century castle in England worth £3 million (around $3.6 million). 1

Vince has also donated to political parties and organizations. He announced in 2015 that he would donate £250,000 (around $302,003) to the Labour Party, the main left-of-center political party in England, due to “an existential threat” from the Conservative Party remaining in power for a second term. Vince also backed the re-election of the only Green Party member of parliament, Caroline Lucas, that same year by donating £20,000 (around $24,160) of his own money, while donating another £50,000 (approximately $60,400) through Ecotricity. 1

Vince received the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2004 from Queen Elizabeth II. An OBE is bestowed upon citizens who have made large contributions to the arts, sciences, charity and welfare organizations, and to public service. 1

Vince became a major shareholder of the English soccer club Forest Green Rovers in 2010, three months prior to him becoming the club’s chairman. As chairman, Vince imposed environmentalist rules for the club including the installation of an “organic” soccer field and solar-powered lawnmowers. He also banned red meat at the team’s stadium. 1

Vince created the world’s first national electric vehicle charging network, Electric Highway, in 2011. He also founded the Sky Diamond company which, according to Vince, will be able to make diamonds from carbon dioxide in the air. 5

Political Activities

Dale Vince announced on April 1, 2022 that he was selling his energy company Ecotricity to focus on politics. Vince proposed policy reforms that, if enacted, would divert £2 billion (around $2.4 billion) a year in subsidies paid to conventional energy producers to fund weather-dependent energy producers. He also argued that corporate tax was too low. 6

AVince canceled his plans to sell Ecotricity in November 2022, stating that “turbulence” in the energy sector was the cause of his withdrawal. 7

Political and Advocacy Funding

Just Stop Oil

Just Stop Oil is a United Kingdom-based climate-change activist group. It caused controversy when members threw tomato soup at the 1888 masterpiece painting Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh as a protest. 8

Just Stop Oil activists have disrupted sporting events to gain publicity, including tying themselves to goalposts at soccer games; glued themselves to busy roads, and held sit-down protests. 9 10 11

Vince admitted to funding the environmentalist organization in March 2022. He stated that organizers of Just Stop Oil reached out to him to help the organization “with a bit of cash.” Vince, who said that he supports the group’s goals and has no problem with their tactics, gave Just Stop Oil around £10,000 (approximately $12,087). 9

After members of the Conservative Party urged Labour Party leader Kier Starmer to return donations made to his party by Vince, Vince announced that he would double any donations made to Just Stop Oil in the next 48 hours on May 31, 2023. 12

Vince donated £170,000 (around $205,490) to the organization in June 2023, and Hollywood director Adam McKay tripled the total pledged to Just Stop Oil, which raised another £500,000 (around $604,382) for the organization. 13

Just Stop Oil raised almost £1 million (around $1,208,445) from when Vince announced his pledge on May 31 until July 9, 2023. 13

Vince has also donated £75,000 (around $90,633) to the vegan activist organization Animal Rising, which attempted to sabotage the Grand National horse race. Vince has stated that he has funded other left-of-center organizations such as Extinction Rebellion, a radical environmental activist organization created in the United Kingdom in mid-2019 from a network of individuals affiliated with Earth First!, Occupy Wall Street, and Greenpeace. 14 15

Labour Party

Dale Vince has donated at least £1.5 million (approximately $1.8 million) to the left-of-center Labour Party since 2015. During the 2020 Labour Party leadership contest, Vince’s company Ecotricity donated £360,000 (around $434,764) to the party, and £20,000 (approximately $24,153) to Labour Party leader Kier Starmer. 2 16

Ecotricity also donated £500,000 (approximately $603,840) in October 2022, and another £200,000 (around $241,536) six months before that. 13

The Labour Party was heavily criticized by Conservative members of Parliament for accepting these donations from Vince due to his funding of Just Stop Oil. The deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson, claimed that every donation the Labour Party accepts from Vince will delay ambulances, and stop people attending hospital appointments. Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands called for the donations to be returned. 17

The Labour Party responded by stating that it has been clear on its views of Just Stop Oil, noting that Starmer told protesters of the organization to “just go home,” as their tactics are “entirely counterproductive.” Labour Party representatives also stated that Dale Vince is a “perfectly legitimate person to take money from.” 17

Despite stating that there is no link between his donations to Just Stop Oil and the Labour Party regarding the decision by Kier Starmer to block new gas and oil exploration in the North Sea, Dale Vince admitted that he has spoken to Starmer privately on the phone. 17

Affiliated Organizations

Dale Vince holds 46 appointments as director at 46 active companies but is listed as holding 101 appointments in total. 5 18

He is the director at multiple energy companies including Microtricity, Ecotricity de France, New Power Company, and Renewable UK. He also sits on the boards of companies such as the mobile phone service company Ecotalk, the private banking company Ecobank, the mail order housing company Ecotopia, and his car manufacturing company Ecocars. 5

References

  1. “The crazy, wind-powered life of Dale Vince, Britain’s richest hippie.” March 26, 2015. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.businessinsider.com/ecotricity-dale-vince-biography-and-life-story-2015-3?r=US&IR=T.
  2. Sinmaz, Emine. “Labour donor Dale Vince: ‘I do want to influence policy but not by buying access’.” The Guardian. June 7, 2023. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/07/labour-donor-dale-vince-influence-access-ecotricity-just-stop-oil-sunak-starmer.
  3. [1] “The crazy, wind-powered life of Dale Vince, Britain’s richest hippie.” March 26, 2015. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.businessinsider.com/ecotricity-dale-vince-biography-and-life-story-2015-3?r=US&IR=T.
  4. “Ecotricity named in ‘Companies to Inspire Britain’.” Ecotricity. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-news/2017/ecotricity-named-as-a-company-to-inspire-britain.
  5. Gadd, Helen. “Dale Vince’s net worth could double in Ecotricity sale.” GloucestershireLive. April 1, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/what-dale-vince-worth-companies-6893608.
  6. Withers, Matt. “‘I don’t know if being an MP is the best route for me…’: eco entrepreneur Dale Vince makes his move into politics.” The New European. April 22, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/dale-vince-ecotricity-interview/.
  7. Arthur, Andrew. “Dale Vince shelves Ecotricity sale due to energy ‘turbulence’.” Business Live. November 8, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/dale-vince-shelves-ecotricity-sale-25463420.
  8. Gayle, Damien. “Just Stop Oil activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.” The Guardian. October 14, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/14/just-stop-oil-activists-throw-soup-at-van-goghs-sunflowers.
  9. Goodwin, Adam. “Forest Green owner ‘accidentally’ funded Just Stop Oil protesters who halted PL games.” TalkSPORT. March 23, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://talksport.com/football/1070631/forest-green-dale-vince-funded-just-stop-oil-protesters-simon-jordan/.
  10. Gayle, Damien. “Just Stop Oil activists arrested after glueing themselves to road in Whitehall.” The Guardian. October 6, 2022. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/06/just-stop-oil-activists-arrested-after-glueing-themselves-to-road-in-whitehall.
  11. “Just Stop Oil.” Sky News. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://news.sky.com/topic/just-stop-oil-10419.
  12. Wilcock, David. “Just Stop Oil donor urged to return Covid cash his firm got while he made large donations to Labour.” Daily Mail Online. May 31, 2023. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12142897/Just-Stop-Oil-donor-urged-return-Covid-cash-firm-got-large-donations-Labour.html.
  13. Miller, Sabrina. “Bonanza for Just Stop Oil as Labour donor Dale Vince donates £170,000.” Daily Mail Online. July 9, 2023. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12278429/Bonanza-Just-Stop-Oil-Labour-donor-Dale-Vince-donates-170-000.html.
  14. [1] Sinmaz, Emine. “Labour donor Dale Vince: ‘I do want to influence policy but not by buying access’.” The Guardian. June 7, 2023. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/07/labour-donor-dale-vince-influence-access-ecotricity-just-stop-oil-sunak-starmer.
  15. “Extinction Rebellion: The story behind the activist group.” BBC News. December 20, 2018. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/science-environment-46626582.
  16. Grimmer, Dan. “Ecotricity’s Dale Vince’s Labour and Just Stop Oil donations.” Eastern Daily Press. January 10, 2023. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23239912.ecotricitys-dale-vinces-labour-just-stop-oil-donations/.
  17. Baker, Tim. “Labour defends taking £1.5m given by Just Stop Oil donor Dale Vince.” Sky News. May 31, 2023. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://news.sky.com/story/labour-defends-taking-1-5m-given-by-just-stop-oil-donor-dale-vince-12893636.
  18. “Dale VINCE personal appointments.” GOV.UK. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/tQZcJBC6E2edLTz0MQ96VZx2SMg/appointments.
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