Sir Jim Ratcliffe: "The UK Has Been Colonised".

For the richest British man who resides in Monaco its very easy to sit there and criticise the UK. What was it that the businessman was moaning about? Speaking to Ed Conway of Sky News, Sir Jim said the UK faces very profound problems. Those are political, social, and economic challenges.

Sir Jim attacked people on welfare (known as benefits, a word I have come to hate), saying they are draining the country. Perhaps Sir Jim has a point; however, you cannot equate everyone on welfare as lazy. Many people on benefits/welfare are genuinely ill people who, for one reason or another, cannot work. Secondly, and this point he made rings true for many, that in the last few years Britain has accepted too many immigrants. Ratcliffe is the part-owner of Manchester United and the chemical company INEOS.

Ratcliffe said, "You have an economy with 9 million people on benefits (welfare) and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the UK has been colonised". Ratcliffe mused that: "The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn't it? I mean the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it's 70 million. That's 12 million people" (more).

Sir Keir Starmer didn't agree with Sir Jim Ratcliffe at all. Starmer described Ratcliffe's words as "offensive and wrong". Sir Keir went on: "Britain is a proud, tolerant, and diverse country". Sir Keir also said, "Jim Ratcliffe should apologise". The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, also didn't like Jim Ratcliffe's words.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe said Sir Keir Starmer was a nice man, but being nice didn't get things fixed. Sir Jim also met Nigel Farage and described the Reform UK Leader as an intelligent and well-meaning man. But he conceded he could also say the same thing about Sir Keir Starmer. He said he knew from his experience with Manchester United that sometimes you have to make difficult and unpopular decisions. And that should be the same with politicians like Sir Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage. Especially, Sir Keir, who is currently in charge of the country.

Manchester United were going through a terrible period under their Portuguese manager. Now, under interim manager Michael Carrick, Man Utd haven't been doing too badly. Rubin Amorim was supposed to be the man who would fix the team's woes. Unfortunately, despite the alleged abilities of Amorim to get the team into winning ways, it didn't transpire. So Amorim was let go, and Michael Carrick has been at the helm ever since.

It would appear from Ratcliffe's political analysis that he is undecided about Sir Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage. As a businessman, he will be looking for politicians who suit him. So the state of the economy for someone like Ratcliffe is what will affect his chemical company, INEOS. Even his beloved Manchester United will be affected by the economy. But frankly, the amount football clubs charge for ticket prices and merchandise to punters is outrageous. Often, poorer fans struggle to afford the ticket prices. But such is their devotion to following their team that, somehow, come every match, the fans are present. Watching overpaid men or women to kick a bag of wind around, but there you go. But for many of these fans, it is an escape from the drudgery of their lives. At least at these matches, they can escape from their woes for a little while.

Going back to Sir Jim's comments about immigration, the UK population, due to immigration, has grown exponentially. The UK population increased from 67 million in mid 2020 and 70 million in mid 2024. These statistics came from the ONS, or Office for National Statistics. So has the UK been colonised? Well, if you were to walk through many towns and cities in the UK, you might certainly think so.

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