•Jim Ratcliffe
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder of INEOS and minority owner of Manchester United, has issued a stark warning about the state of the United Kingdom, claiming the country has been “colonised” by immigration and is facing profound political, social and economic challenges.
Speaking on the sidelines of the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, Sir Jim told Sky News that Britain’s rapid population growth and high welfare dependency are unsustainable.
“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn’t it?” He said.
He cited population figures, stating: “The population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people.”
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK population stood at approximately 67 million in mid-2020 and reached 70 million by mid-2024. The population was estimated at 58.9 million in 2000.
Sir Jim also questioned whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer is the right leader to address the crisis.
“I don’t know whether it’s just the apparatus that hasn’t allowed Keir to do it or, or he’s maybe too nice – I mean, Keir is a nice man. I like him, but it’s a tough job and I think you have to do some difficult things with the UK to get it back on track, because at the moment I don’t think the economy is in a good state.”
He revealed he recently met Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and offered a balanced assessment of both political figures.
“I think Nigel is an intelligent man, and I think he’s got good intentions. But in a way, you could say exactly the same about Keir Starmer,” Sir Jim said. “I think it needs somebody who’s prepared to be unpopular for a period of time to get the big issues sorted out.”
Drawing parallels with his restructuring at Manchester United, Sir Jim argued that bold but unpopular decisions are necessary to fix major problems.
“I’ve seen quite a bit of this at the football club,” he said. “If you do difficult things… you do become very unpopular for a while. But we felt they were the right things to do. And I think we’re beginning to see some evidence… that that’s beginning to pay off.”
He continued: “You’ve got all the same issues with the country. If you really want to deal with the major issues of immigration, with people opting to take benefits rather than working for a living… then you’re going to have to do some things which are unpopular, and show some courage.”
