Manchester United co-owner and INEOS founder Jim Ratcliffe has stirred controversy after claiming that the United Kingdom has been “colonised by immigrants” and suggesting that Prime Minister Keir Starmer may be “too nice” to tackle the country’s challenges.
Ratcliffe made the remarks during an interview with Sky News, where he argued that the UK economy cannot sustain high levels of immigration alongside what he described as a significant number of people relying on state benefits.
“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he said. “I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money.
“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.”
However, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicate that the UK population was approximately 67 million in mid-2020 and 70 million in mid-2024. The population stood at about 58.9 million in 2000.
Ratcliffe also said that the prime minister must be willing to make difficult and potentially unpopular decisions to address economic and social pressures.
“I think it needs somebody who’s prepared to be unpopular for a period of time to get the big issues sorted out,” he stated, while acknowledging that Starmer has positive qualities but faces a “tough job.”
He further described Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as an “intelligent” individual “with good intentions,” though he suggested that Starmer shares similar attributes.
A vocal supporter of Brexit, Ratcliffe has previously criticised successive Conservative governments over immigration policy, arguing they failed to reduce net migration following the UK’s exit from the European Union. In the interview, he noted that Brexit “didn’t turn out how people anticipated,” adding that immigration was central to the 2016 referendum campaign.
His comments come amid renewed focus on migration figures, with government data showing tens of thousands of migrants arriving in recent months, including crossings via small boats across the English Channel. January figures were reportedly lower than previous periods, a decline widely attributed to severe winter weather conditions.
Beyond immigration, Ratcliffe also weighed in on the broader economy, saying the UK needs to become “sharper on the business front” and prioritise competitive energy costs to drive economic growth.
The remarks have since generated debate, particularly given Ratcliffe’s high-profile status in British business and football.
