‘The UK is in a mess and terrible things are happening’, says Ex-Dragon Den's star Duncan Bannatyne

16 September 2024, 09:49 | Updated: 16 September 2024, 09:52

By Alan Zycinski

@AlanJZycinski

Business tycoon Duncan Bannatyne has claimed the UK is in “a mess with some terrible things happening”.

The former Dragons’ Den star’s been speaking to LBC just over two months on from Sir Keir Starmer winning the keys to Number 10.

In a wide-ranging interview, the 75-year-old - whose portfolio includes more than 100 health clubs, spas, and hotels - spoke about his concerns for businesses and people across the country.

He said: “The UK is in a mess because we’ve got two and a half or three billion pounds of debt now. I think it (the Prime Minister’s warnings of things getting worse before they get better) worries me a bit in terms of business. But I think we’ll survive it, and most companies will that are funded well, and I’ve got a good business.

“I think employment levels will stay pretty steady too but people will pay a lot of tax. People will have to suffer in different ways. Whether it’s inheritance tax or capital gains tax, there’s no doubt about it”.

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Mr Bannatyne previously spoke of his support for leaving the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum and went on to vote for Brexit.

But he told LBC he would be happy to see Sir Keir Starmer renegotiate a better deal.

“He might well do it. Boris Johnson wasn’t very good on the detail, And I think Keir Starmer’s quite a stickler to that. So I think he might get a better deal. That would be really good.”

Asked about his thoughts on the SNP Government in Scotland, where he grew up, Mr Bannatyne highlighted similar difficulties he believes both Holyrood and Westminster are facing.

“Scotland is in the same turmoil as England in that it keeps going through different leaders and different parties, and no one seems to be able to bring the country together. The country is very split.

“And there’s a group of people who just want to fight and protest and they might take up 5 or 10 per cent of the country, but when the rest of the country is split in the middle they have the balance.

"They make the country worse. So there’s just some terrible things happening, but I don’t know what the answer is.”

The Health club owner also discussed his views on protecting women’s spaces, claiming “they are being overtaken by men,” and his thoughts on Britain’s overcrowded prisons, believing “more need to be built” but that we should also “look for a better way of bringing people back into society”.

You can hear the interview on LBC News.