Bridget Phillipson has hit out at Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the billionaire said the UK was “on the slide”.
Speaking to GB News, the Labour Party chair and equalities minister said she wasn't interested in a “tax exile's” opinion on the country's direction.
On Saturday, the 73-year-old founder of petrochemicals giant Ineos argued that Britain’s political class was unwilling to tackle the nation’s “immigration problem” and “benefits problem”.
“We had the greatest empire in the world. We were a great people. We won two world wars,” he said.
However, the billionaire argued that the UK was now “on the slide” despite its great history.
“Nobody’s tough enough to deal with the immigration problem. Nobody’s tough enough to deal with the benefits problem", he told the BBC.
“But somebody needs to do it."
His comments echoed remarks he made in February, when the Manchester United owner warned of the same crises.
“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in.
“I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money,” he said at the time.
Keen to get Ms Phillipson’s take on the comments, GB News’s Camilla Tominey asked the minister: “PIP benefits are set to double by 2030. The welfare bill isn't coming down. So basically we're going to have a budget on October 28, which hammers working people.
“Meanwhile, those who don't work are going to be given a handout.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- Man Utd owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe claims Britain is 'on the slide' in blistering immigration and tax attack
- John Healey weighs up dropping mansion tax threshold in 'war on middle class'
- Tax expert reveals Andy Burnham’s bloated bureaucracy legacy in Manchester
“People like Jim Radcliffe are saying that this is why this country is going to the dogs.
“You can sympathise with that. Working people can see it very, very clearly- the working people that Labour's meant to represent,” Camilla said.
“I’m not sure I want to be hearing too much from someone who’s a tax exile as to what they think is the direction of our country,” the Labour minister hit back.
“He's a successful man who once paid a huge amount of tax into our economy,” the GB News host shot back.
“Other people who are very high-rate taxpayers are leaving in droves under this Labour government.”
Responding, the equalities minister insisted that Labour had “stabilised” the British economy, declaring: “We've got the highest growth in the last six months of any economy in the G7. That's a good foundation to build on in the budget.”
“I do get the point about working people. People who work hard expect to see rewards for that contribution.
“It's why they will have seen in recent months Andy Burnham has placed a real focus on giving people more breathing space around VAT, on electricity bills, around bus fares, around business rates, cuts for hospitality, which is an incredibly important part of our economy,” Ms Phillipson said.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
from GB News https://ift.tt/sNF2MGv
via IFTTT
Thank you for your message!