Prominent Brexiteer Sir Rocco Forte says he’s planning to swap Britain for Italy if Labour gets in at the next election.
The hotelier – who has been an outspoken critic of the government’s handling of the UK’s split with the European Union – has confessed to being disillusioned by what he sees as a failure to take advantage of the many opportunities afforded by the political divorce.
He has always been a Tory, donating £100,000 to the Conservative Party before the most recent election and throwing a £12,000 victory party for Boris Johnson when he was appointed leader at his Mayfair hotel.
But he’s been left with a sour taste in his mouth over the party’s handling of the split and has recently announced he has turned off the money tap because the Conservatives have failed to deliver economic growth.
Instead, he’s headed to Italy, where he can grow his business more seamlessly.
Speaking to The Times, he said: “I am of Italian origin, I speak Italian, a large part of my business is in Italy and if I was in Italy I’d be able to expand quicker than I could sitting here in the UK”.
Sir Rocco wouldn’t be the first Brexit backer to up sticks and desert these shores.
Dyson founder Sir James Dyson moved the headquarters of his technology company to Singapore, while Sir Jim Ratcliffe also announced the production of the new Ineos electric Grenadier off-road vehicle is set to be moved… to Austria.
Meanwhile, here in the UK, the average voter is left to deal with the consequences.
Related: Wealth of Nations Index shows ‘exceptional’ drop for Britain
