The Lesson Jim Ratcliffe Could Learn From My Immigrant Father-in-Law

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There is always something particularly incendiary about a political scandal when it collides with the world of football.  My litmus test on such matters is my father-in-law who, like most people, has a passing interest in politics but a passionate interest in sport and in particular his local football club: Manchester United. I, on the other hand have no interest in the beautiful game but love a good political drama.

So, when Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s second richest man and co-owner of Manchester United decided to tell Sky News that “The UK has been colonised by immigrants” who he heavily implied were all a bunch of scroungers both me and my Indian-origin father-in-law were all ears as was, it turns out, most of the country. 

Within minutes of Sir Jim’s comments being aired on Wednesday, social media exploded; football fans and politicians rushed to react (the latter undoubtedly spotting an opportunity to connect with the ‘normies’. Even the Prime Minister was unusually quick to wade-in. Ratcliffe had endorsed Sir Keir at the last general election and the two men were photographed together at Old Trafford. However, freshly unshackled from his advisor, Morgan McSweeney, the PM published a missive on X, telling the businessman his claims about immigration had been  “Offensive and wrong” and that he should apologise. 

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I agree. The 71 year old chemicals mogul should apologise, not least to Manchester United supporters whose loyalty and unwavering support has made the club what it is today; that includes my 84-year-old immigrant father-in-law. 

Jim Ratcliffe’s personal story is undoubtedly a remarkable one. Born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester in 1952, his father was a joiner and his mother managed the accounts for the family business. After graduating from the University of Birmingham, Sir Jim entered the energy and chemicals sector. Four decades of hard work and serious risk-taking later, Ineos, the chemical company he founded, has made him a multi-billionaire. 

Unfortunately, Sir Jim’s extreme wealth appears to have hermetically sealed him from reality. Once considered a working class hero, Ratcliffe can no longer plausibly describe himself in these terms. In 2016, he was a vocal backer of Brexit which propelled the UK towards the greatest act of economic self-harm for a generation. It’s a wound that has deeply hurt the most economically vulnerable in society – the working class and those on benefits. By 2020, with barriers to trade up and the nation’s finances down, Ratcliffe chose to take his money and his 78 metre super-yacht Hampshire II off to Monaco where he is currently a tax exile, depriving the UK of an estimated £4 billion in cash for public services. So much for patriotism.

Meanwhile, back in Greater Manchester, life for the non-billionaire-class continues as usual. My father-in-law who arrived in Manchester from Delhi in 1976 as a post-graduate student still lives in the 4 bedroom cookie-cutter-new build he bought in the early 1980s.

My mother-in-law chose to be a homemaker (think Delia Smith in a sari). Their two kids went to the local state schools, grew up, left home, made successes of themselves and then one of them, for his sins, married me. My in-laws are now retired. Pops, as I call him, had worked as a scientist for the British-Swedish biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca where he looked down a microscope for 35 years trying to help find a cure for cancer. You know what else he did? He paid his taxes.  

In 2024, Ratcliffe a life-long Man U supporter struck a 1.2 billion pound deal for a 27 percent stake in the club – which put him in control of operations. A year on, my father in-law, also a lifelong fan, renewed his season ticket.  The new management decided to slash the OAP concession meaning the price for some season tickets raised from £400 per year to £865.  For a man who wants an “open debate” on issues affecting the country it turns out Sir Jim was not so keen when it came to his home turf; the terraces complained, the terraces were ignored.

Pops, like so many others, bit the bullet and coughed up the extra cash and he won’t have a bad word said about it. Why? Because of his loyalty to the team, as it is to our country, is unquestionable.  There is something deeply touching about seeing my father in law and his bestie (who also happens to be an immigrant octogenarian former cancer scientist) trundle off to each home game, come rain or shine.  There’s a lesson in it too for Sir Jim Ratcliffe who by contrast refuses to put his money where his mouth and has abandoned the UK in its time of need. His actions and words are the exact opposite of loyalty. His toxic language and inaccurate statistics pollute an important and legitimate conversation about economic growth and the part foreign workers play in achieving it. If my father in law is the type of a “colonising”  immigrant Ratcliffe claims we should fear I say bring it on; we want more not fewer of them.