Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire co-owner of Manchester United, has said he has "no confidence in the UK" and that the country is "on the slide" because of immigration. The Ineos founder, who moved to Monaco in 2020, made the comments in the BBC's Big Boss Interview.
Immigration and political leadership
Ratcliffe said: "I think the UK, unfortunately, it was a fantastic place. We had the greatest empire in the world. We were a great people. We won two world wars. We're good, honest folk." He added: "But unfortunately, at the moment, I think the UK is on the slide. It's quite difficult to see how we arrest it."
He called for "politicians who are tough enough to deal with some very difficult problems" and who "will make decisions which are good for the country, not good for themselves and their party", adding: "And we haven't had one of those for a long time." Asked which issues politicians should focus on, he named immigration as "clearly one" and high taxes.
The remarks follow his earlier controversial claim that Britain had been "colonised by immigrants", which drew criticism from then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Pep Guardiola, and several Manchester United supporter groups. Ratcliffe has also faced protests from United fans over his cost-cutting measures at Old Trafford, including the mass suspension of loyal season ticket holders.
Energy and wealth concerns
Ratcliffe also criticised the decision not to issue further licences for the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields in the North Sea, calling it "insanity". He warned that the UK's reliance on energy imports could leave the country short of gas this winter: "If we have a really sharp cold spell, then there is conceivably the possibility that we'll run out of gas and have to switch the industry off."
He said the UK had "a bit of a green eye towards wealth at the moment", which he said was "encouraging the people who have created wealth to leave the UK because it's just become uncomfortable for them for tax reasons or whatever". He added: "Also, crime on the streets has gone up as well, which doesn't help."
No plans to return
Asked if he planned to return to the UK, Ratcliffe said: "Not at the moment, no. I don't see growth being tackled. I would like to see the benefits bill cut in half and all the savings spent on robotics and AI." He doubted AI would leave many jobless but said: "It's going to have fundamental changes to the way in which we live, the way in which we work, and the UK is nowhere at the moment in those two technologies."
