Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a billionaire businessman and co-owner of Manchester United, has stated he has lost confidence in the UK and is unsurprised that wealthy individuals are leaving the country. He attributed the nation's decline to Labour's failure to address welfare, immigration, and high taxation, whilst asserting that no politician possesses the necessary resolve to prioritise the country's interests. His remarks follow his own relocation to Monaco in 2020 and come as other prominent billionaires, including steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and hedge fund manager Chris Rokos, have also departed the UK.

Ratcliffe, worth approximately £17 billion, criticised the government's energy policy, particularly the failure to develop domestic oil and gas fields at Rosebank and Jackdaw, warning that the UK risks running out of gas during winter. He highlighted that Chris Rokos, Britain's third largest taxpayer who paid £330 million in taxes last year, recently announced his departure for Greece, citing more favourable tax arrangements. Ratcliffe also contended that the UK's cultural attitude towards wealth creation differs unfavourably from the United States, where entrepreneurial success is celebrated rather than resented, and he argued that excessive taxation on North Sea operators was driving closures of oil rigs.