Labour slam Sir Jim Ratcliffe for claiming Britain is ‘on the slide’ and risks going broke while living in Monaco

NewsPolitics The 20th Anniversary Gala Of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Photocall at Opera Garnier on September 18, 2026 in Monaco, Monaco. Pictured: jim ratcliffe Ref: BLU_S10299919 180926 NON-EXCLUSIVE Picture by: / SplashNews.com Splash News and Pictures USA: 310-525-5808 UK: 020 8126 1009 eamteam@shutterstock.com World Rights, No Germany Rights, No Mexico Rights, No Belgium Rights, No France Rights, No Switzerland Rights, No Spain Rights, No Portugal Rights, No Argentina Rights, No Italy Rights, No Peru Rights Credit: Splash MANCHESTER United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe warned Britain risks going broke as Labour ministers hit back at his claim the country is “on the slide”. The billionaire businessman blamed high taxes, mass immigration and the soaring benefits bill for Britain’s decline. Bridget Phillipson said Sir Jim Ratcliffe had lost the ‘moral high ground’ by criticising Britain while living in Monaco Credit: PA Man Utd owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe warned Britain risks going broke Credit: Splash Treasury minister Torsten Bell responded by accusing him of “hating his own country”. And Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said Sir Jim had lost the “moral high ground” by criticising Britain while living in Monaco and supporting Brexit. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! She told the BBC: “I do think you lose the moral high ground in the argument you make, Jim Ratcliffe, that is, by making these kinds of pronouncements while choosing to make decisions, that he is within his rights to make, to become a tax exile.” She added: “And of course, he was also someone, as I understand it, who was a big supporter of Brexit.” The row comes as Britain struggles to hang on to some of its wealthiest taxpayers. Hedge fund billionaire Chris Rokos, one of Britain’s biggest individual taxpayers, is moving his residency to Greece amid fears of further Labour tax rises. Betfred founder Fred Done, whose family paid £400million in tax last year, has also complained about the burden on the wealthy and said he would “not wish to be reborn” in Britain. Sir Jim, whose fortune is estimated at around £15billion, also warned: “If you tax everybody to death, they’re all going to leave.” Most read in The Sun Comment now