𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

One of the largest chemical manufacturers has announced plans to divert investment from the UK to the United States in protest against Labour’s tax grabs. Energy giant Ineos, owned by Manchester United investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe, says that its future “will not be in the UK” following a series of measures introduced under Sir Keir Starmer’s government, including a windfall tax on the profits made by energy companies.

The firm will now divert as much as £3 billion away from the UK as a result. Brian Gilvary, chief executive of Ineos’s energy division, said: “We have stopped investing in Britain. Our future investment will not be in the UK. There’s no question of that. He added the company “cannot invest with any certainty because we can’t be sure what future tax rates will be”. “The problem is that the UK has become one of the most unstable fiscal regimes in the world from a perspective of natural resources and energy.”

The windfall tax, first introduced by the Conservatives but expanded by Labour, has hit oil and gas companies hard, with a 78% rate one of the highest in the world.

Since taking power in July 2024, Labour has publicly stated that economic growth was central to its mission, but critics have argued that many of their policy moves have been “anti-business” and have deterred investors from ploughing money into the UK.

An increase in national insurance contributions made by employers has increased the cost of doing business, whilst changes around inheritance tax and the status of non-doms have been blamed for an increase in wealthy people moving abroad to avoid huge tax bills.

Sir Jim, who has an estimated net wealth of £17 billion, has previously warned that Labour is “squeezing the life out of our abundant energy reserves in the North Sea.”

Ineos’s decision comes just months after the firm closed the Grangemouth oil refinery, leading to the loss of 400 jobs.

The firm has warned that its olefins and polymers plants, both at Grangemouth, remain under threat of closure due to a hike in government taxes.

Mr Gilvary added that the US is a more welcoming environment for the company, with Donald Trump vowing to “drill baby drill” in a bid to garner support of large conglomerates.

He told The Telegraph: “The United States has got a long track record. In the 1990s, it was producing 6.5million barrels of oil a day and importing 5million.

“But now it’s producing 30million barrels a day and exporting. That’s proper energy security and a proper fiscal regime.

“The US absolutely understands the importance of domestic supplies and how you can drive economic growth off the back of it, so that’s the place where we’ll be.”

The Conservatives’ energy spokesperson Claire Coutinho said: “Sir Jim Ratcliffe is right – sky-high energy prices and crippling carbon taxes are causing the death of British industry.

“Ed Miliband needs to put growth and jobs ahead of his obsession with Net Zero, scrap the ban on new oil and gas licences and back the North Sea. Cheap energy must come first.”