Labour chair challenges Ratcliffe’s criticism of UK while living abroad

Bridget Phillipson said Sir Jim Ratcliffe had lost the “moral high ground” by criticising the UK while being a tax resident in Monaco. Ratcliffe says high taxes and immigration have weakened his confidence in the country and argues the government should make greater use of North Sea oil and gas.

Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson has criticised Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments about the United Kingdom, saying the billionaire businessman had lost “the moral high ground” while living as a tax exile. She said she would treat his claim that the country was “on the slide” with caution.

Ratcliffe, the founder of petrochemical company Ineos and co-owner of Manchester United, told the BBC that he had lost confidence in the UK because of what he described as high taxes and high immigration. He said conditions would need to improve before he would consider returning. Ratcliffe has been a tax resident in Monaco since 2020.

Speaking to the BBC programme Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Phillipson said Ratcliffe was entitled to make personal decisions about his tax residence, but questioned his position when making public judgements about the country. She said she remained optimistic about the UK’s prospects and argued that the government was entering next month’s Budget from a position of strength.

Phillipson said the government faced challenges, including international economic pressures, but believed decisions taken over the previous two years had put the country in a strong position. She declined to predict whether taxes would rise in the Budget on 28 October and said ministers remained committed to controlling spending under their fiscal rules.

Ratcliffe, whose wealth is estimated in the source report at about £15bn, also criticised the government’s approach to North Sea oil and gas. He called the failure to invest further in the sector “insanity”, arguing that the UK should exploit its natural resources and warning that high taxation could encourage more people to leave.

Ineos operates the Forties pipeline, which the source report says transports about 30% of the UK’s North Sea oil. A government spokesperson said oil and gas would remain important for decades, while arguing that a transition to domestically generated clean power was necessary for energy and financial security. The report also notes that other prominent billionaires, including Lakshmi Mittal and hedge-fund manager Chris Rokos, have left the UK.