One of the UK’s most successful investors, hailed as “Britain’s Warren Buffet“, is slamming the “lamentable” state of the country’s economy and calling on politicians to take action.
Hedge fund manager Terry Smith, the founder and chief executive of Fundsmith, called on Britain’s “anti-capitalist” spirit in an interview with William Green on the We Study Billionaires podcast.
Specifically, the 71-year old investor is urging Britons to contribute to the economy as business people instead of relying on jobs in the public sector.
He said: “In my view, there is an anti-entrepreneurial, anti-capitalist spirit in the UK and its been problematic for a long time. On the whole, Americans wish to emulate success.
“Britons wish to destroy or criticise it. I don’t think that is helpful. We got to learn to appreciate people who are successful, applaud it and wish to emulate it.
Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Investor Terry Smith is calling out the “lamentable” state of the UK economy
GETTY / WE STUDY BILLIONAIRES
“Once you go outside London, the thing that becomes evident to me is that its been hollowed out. The industries which we used to rely on for manufacturing are by and large gone.
“That’s not new. If you take the textile industry, originated in the North of England during the Industrial Revolution then it migrated to America in the North East after the Civil War. Then it migrated to places like Hong Kong.
“It keeps moving and you have to move on yourself. I’m not lamenting the absence of the textile industry. You have to move to new industries. You don’t need to have half the population employed by the public sector, which it is. That is not going to be helpful.
Furthermore, Smith drew a stark and concerning comparison between the UK’s economy and that of the poorest state in America.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
“The poorest state in America is Mississippi and the medium income is about $44,000. That is the same as the medium income as the United Kingdom. What went wrong?” he added.
“One of the things that strikes people when they travel America is how poor [it is]. The UK is poor all over. Outside of those enclaves of London and a few other major cities, the UK is as bad as the poorest state in America.
“Both sides of the [political] divide in the UK seem to have some responsibility for these lamentable state of affairs.”
His comments come as the Labour Government attempts to “kickstart the economy” following a turbulent eight months back in power.
Last month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled plans to build a third runaway in Heathrow and create the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor; the latter being part of the Government’s AI ambitions.
However, Reeves’s 2024 Autumn Budget has received backlash from the business community due to her pledge to raise the National Living Wage and overhaul National Insurance.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her first Budget in October which sparked an exodus of millionaires from BritainPAOn the Chancellor’s attempts to build bridges with the business community, Bizspace’s head of marketing Aman Parmar said: “Despite the optimism and positive outlook highlighted by the UK Chancellor, the reluctance on her part to discuss taxes and her refusal to rule out further tax rises on businesses over the course of this parliament may well be leaving small business owners and startups nervous for the months ahead, and that they were somewhat ignored in todays speech.
“Reeves, who has previously been criticised by UK business owners for her October 2024 tax-hiking budget, dedicated her speech to the long-term plans of focusing on stability, reform, and investment.
“She repeatedly took opportunities within her speech to clamp down on the message that she has not heard any reasonable alternatives to her changes to business taxes from the Conservative party, and that her ‘difficult decisions’ have been made in the best interest of the public.”
The Chancellor’s 2025 Spring Budget will be announced on March 26, 2025.