Labour is forcing the brightest out of Britain

Telegraph

a day ago

How many people do you know leaving the UK? My list gets longer every week.
Meanwhile, the Labour Government is standing still, watching an exodus of talent and enterprise jump to greener pastures where ability and entrepreneurship are applauded, not attacked. I read with despair last month that John Fredriksen, the Norwegian shipping billionaire and Britain's ninth-richest man, is moving to Dubai. On departure he declared 'Britain has gone to hell ' – echoing what I know many of Britain's brightest are thinking.
But this isn't just about the wealthy. Walk through the City today and you'll hear people in their twenties and thirties with first-class degrees from Russell Group universities, several years into prosperous jobs and already contributing greatly to our economy, discussing job offers in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. These aren't millennials seeking sun and tax breaks; they're Britain's future leaders leaving before their careers have truly taken off.
I see this clearly through my son and his friends. Over the summer, I listened to his contemporaries – the sort of ambitious, well-educated graduates Britain desperately needs to retain – comparing salary packages from international firms, all based outside the UK.
The ripple effects run deeper than any Treasury spreadsheet can capture. When Fredriksen announced his departure, the headlines focused on losing Britain's ninth-richest man. What they missed was the ecosystem around such figures. The professional services they used, from family offices to accountants and lawyers – all gone.
More damaging still is the signal this sends globally. Fredriksen isn't just another wealthy expatriate seeking lower taxes. He's an extraordinary businessman who built an empire from nothing: a global leader whose investment decisions move markets. When someone of his calibre declares that 'Britain has gone to hell' and relocates to Dubai, it resonates far beyond the financial pages. It tells every international investor, every ambitious entrepreneur, every bit of mobile talent considering where to base their next venture, that Britain is no longer the place to do serious business.
This is the true cost of Labour's war on wealth creation – not just the direct tax revenue lost, but the compound effect of diminished opportunity, reduced ambition and Britain's declining reputation as the natural home for global talent.
This exodus isn't surprising when you consider who's making Britain's economic decisions. Of the 32 members of Labour's Cabinet, just one has ever started a business, while fewer than half have any private sector experience whatsoever. Meanwhile, the homelessness minister has resigned after claims she evicted tenants from a property she owns and then increased the rent by hundreds of pounds – behaviour she was simultaneously trying to outlaw under her own Renters' Rights Bill.
Compare this to Nigel Lawson, who understood that governments don't create wealth – people do. During his six years as Chancellor, Lawson reversed Britain's spiral of industrial chaos, replacing defeatist pessimism with entrepreneurial dynamism.
As we head into what will be a challenging Autumn, I grow increasingly frustrated by this Government's reluctance to pursue radical reforms. Instead, it tinkers around the edges while Rome burns.
The Chancellor should be ambitious and bold. But Rachel Reeves has already admitted that further tax rises are coming, saying she won't rule them out because 'it would be irresponsible for a Chancellor to do that'. We are already reaching peak taxation – the Office for Budget Responsibility warns that the tax burden will hit a historic high of 37.7 per cent of GDP by 2027–28. Yet Labour seems oblivious to the economic reality that tax cuts, not tax rises, stimulate growth.
What the figures reveal is deeply concerning. Labour raised taxes by £40 billion a year in their first Budget, having set out only £7 billion in manifesto tax plans. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research warns that Labour's economic mismanagement has created a £41.2 billion deficit. Put simply, the Chancellor cannot simultaneously meet her fiscal rules, fulfil her spending commitments, and uphold the Labour manifesto pledge to avoid taxing working people.
Take our self-inflicted wound over tax-free shopping. Britain is now the only European country that doesn't offer tax-free shopping to international visitors, handing our competitors a 20 per cent price advantage.
What this Government fails to understand is human behaviour. Every time the Treasury pulls another tax lever, human habits change: the brightest minds leaving for better opportunities abroad, the entrepreneurs quietly relocating their headquarters. Ministers seem transfixed by their spreadsheets and the theoretical millions they believe they can squeeze from each new policy. But spreadsheets don't capture the midnight conversations between parents wondering if they can still afford their child's school fees, or the graduates accepting job offers in Singapore rather than staying home.
We should be learning from countries that understand how to attract rather than repel talent. Italy has successfully brought in 1,186 high-net-worth individuals since introducing its flat tax regime in 2017. Meanwhile, Ireland's tax receipts hit a record €108 billion in 2024. These aren't accidents – they're the result of competitive policies that understand you attract more bees with honey than vinegar.
The choice facing Britain is stark: continue this war on talent and watch more of our brightest follow Fredriksen's path to places like Dubai, or embrace the policies that once made Britain a magnet for global minds and capital.
That's why Kemi Badenoch's approach is the right one. She has made clear she will only announce policies that are costed, and clear, or that will save money. Her vision for a revitalised Conservative Party will take time, trust, and transparency, but what's consistent is that it's always been the Conservatives who are committed to the values of enterprise, sound money, and renewal.
My work over the past 40 years across business, the arts, and education all comes from one place – because I love this country and continue to believe in public service. Born and bred in Grimsby, I could never turn my back on the communities I've grown up with. But they do deserve better. So rather than leave the country, I am committed to doubling down and trying to help tackle the challenges facing us.