Bridget Phillipson tore into Jim Ratcliffe after the British billionaire claimed the UK is “on the slide”.

Ratcliffe, who owns Manchester United football club and has lived in tax-free Monaco since 2020, claimed: “If you continue to tax everyone to death, they’re all going to leave. And that’s what’s happening.”

“I think the UK is on the slide,” he told the BBC, insisting “tough” politicians have to make decisions which are good for the country rather than their parties.

Ratcliffe, worth an estimated £17bn, alleged that high immigration and high taxes have forced Britain into a state of decline and that he would only return if things improved.

However, Labour Party chair Phillipson told BBC: “You’ll forgive if I do take with a pinch of salt what someone who is a tax exile has to say about our country.

“I am optimistic about our country’s prospects,” the minister said, while acknowledging there are large international headwinds in reference to the ongoing Iran war.

“But I fundamentally believe we are in a strong position going into this Budget because of decisions taken over the last two years,” she added.

The minister claimed “you lose the moral high ground” over such economic arguments if one “becomes a tax exile”.

Phillipson, who is also the equalities minister, tore into Ratcliffe’s history of supporting the UK’s exit from the EU.

“He was also someone, as I understand it, who was a big supporter of Brexit,” she said.

“That was over a decade ago now, but we’ve seen the impact of Brexit on our economy, and that’s why this government is committed to making sure we do have a better trading relationship with the European Union, which will be a central part of how we make sure we do see stronger growth.”

Her remarks come after Treasury minister Torsten Bell claimed on X Ratcliffe “hates his own country while complaining he doesn’t get big enough subsidies from it” and “laments the hit to manufacturing driven by a Brexit he supported”.

Chancellor John Healey is expected to hike taxes to close funding gaps in his Budget next month.

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