US Vice President JD Vance has claimed that Britain’s economy is stagnating due to high levels of immigration, arguing that Western nations are “growing lazy” and relying too much on “cheap labour” instead of improving productivity.
Speaking at a Washington DC summit hosted by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Vance said, “I’d say that if you look in nearly every country, from Canada to the UK, that imported large amounts of cheap labour, you’ve seen productivity stagnate. That’s not a total happenstance. I think that the connection is very direct.”
According to The Telegraph, Vance argued that the US, too, had been “addicted to cheap labour” for 40 years, blaming failed economic policies for the issue.
The vice president also defended US President Donald Trump’s recent tariffs, stating they were a “necessary tool to protect our jobs and our industries from other countries.”
Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on iron and steel imports from Britain, dragging the UK into his trade war. He has also suggested a 200% tariff on European wine and spirits.
Vance insisted that a combination of tariffs, advanced robotics and lower energy costs would help the US rebuild its manufacturing industry. “When you erect a tariff wall around a critical industry like auto manufacturing and you combine that with advanced robotics and lower energy costs and other tools that increase the productivity of US labour, you give American workers a multiplying effect,” he explained.
His latest remarks are likely to deepen tensions between the US and the UK, as he has repeatedly criticised Britain since taking office in January. At the Munich Security Conference last month, he accused the UK of suppressing free speech, citing the arrest of Adam Smith-Connor, who was convicted in 2022 for silently praying outside an abortion clinic.
Earlier this month, Vance also caused controversy by suggesting that Britain had not “fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”
The Daily Mirror reported that his comments sparked backlash, with critics pointing out that 636 British troops died in Iraq and Afghanistan while fighting alongside the US. Vance later attempted to clarify his remarks, insisting he was not referring to the UK or France, but he did not specify which countries he meant.
His statement was widely condemned, with UK PM Keir Starmer’s spokesperson reaffirming that the UK “is full of admiration” for its troops’ service.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also dismissed Vance’s comments as “wrong, wrong, wrong,” and said, “For 20 years in Afghanistan – pro-rata our size against America’s – we spent the same amount of money, we put the same number of men and women in and we suffered the same losses.”
