Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Manchester United, has sparked controversy by claiming that the UK has been “colonised by immigrants” and suggesting that Prime Minister Keir Starmer may be “too nice” for the scale of the country’s challenges.
The INEOS founder made the remarks during an interview with Sky News, arguing that the UK economy cannot sustain high levels of immigration while also supporting a large number of people on benefits.
“You can’t have an economy with nine million people receiving benefits and huge numbers of immigrants coming in,” he said. “I mean, the United Kingdom has been colonised. It’s too expensive.
“Isn’t it true that immigrants have colonized the United Kingdom? I mean, the UK’s population was 58 million in 2020, and it is now 70 million. “That’s 12 million people.”
However, the Office for National Statistics estimates that the UK population was around 67 million in mid-2020 and 70 million in mid-2024. The population was approximately 58.9 million in 2000.
Ratcliffe also stated 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 said, while describing Starmer as having positive attributes but facing a “tough job.”
He also referred to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as an “intelligent” man “with good intentions,” although he suggested that Starmer shared similar qualities.
Ratcliffe, who was a vocal supporter of Brexit, has previously criticised successive Conservative governments over immigration policy, arguing they failed to reduce net migration after the UK left the European Union. In the latest interview, he said Brexit “didn’t turn out how people anticipated,” noting that the 2016 referendum campaign “was largely about immigration.”
His comments come amid renewed focus on migration figures. Government data shows tens of thousands of migrants have arrived in the UK in recent months, including crossings by small boats across the Channel. January figures were lower than in previous years, a drop widely attributed to severe winter weather conditions.
Ratcliffe also criticised broader economic management, saying the country needs to become “sharper on the business front” and focus on competitive energy costs to drive growth.