'It's bad for business': Britain’s 'best tradesman’ quits UK for Switzerland over Rachel Reeves' tax raids

Award-winning builder Martin Daly says a lack of funding for apprenticeships and too much red tape in the house-building sector are factors that have driven him out of Britain.

The business owner, 30, is also furious at chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to hike NI employer contributions, which means he is not able to employ as many workers as he would like to, including apprentices.

Mr Daly believes these policies are sending Britain in a direction that’s bad for business.

“They were definitely the tipping points. I want to grow my business and help younger generations but I now just can't afford to take them on,” he told the Daily Mail.

Mr Daly, who runs MD Builders in Motherwell and was recently crowned Screwfix Top Tradesperson for 2025, warned more Brits will flock to countries like Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Australia. He claims these countries offer better financial incentives - particularly for young people.

Read more: Increasing number of Brits quitting the UK leaves net migration lower than previously thought

Read more: Rachel Reeves' next budget date revealed as chancellor refuses to rule out further tax rises

“The government seem to be funding everything apart from actual youth and that's going to come back to bite us - but in the years ahead, there's going to be no one here.

“There needs to be more funding - Australia gives apprentices money to help them.

“Unless we focus more on youth, they're all going to leave. Working closely with lots coming through, many want to go - they're going to Dubai, to Australia, governments that are trying to help you. Why aren't we doing similar here?"

"There needs to be funding otherwise there's going to be no one left here to do the building we need.”

He also lashed out at all the “red tape” increasing his overheads in the construction sector.

The Labour government has set a target of building 1.5 million new homes by the end of the Parliament - but there are concerns within the industry that this could be missed. 

Housebuilding and commercial work slumped to its deepest level since the early Covid pandemic at the end of 2025. Builders surveyed indicated that confidence among their clients remained fragile and less demand had resulted in smaller workloads at the end of the year.

The number of UK construction workers also fell to two million in the third quarter of last year, the lowest for 25 years.

Writing for LBC Opinion in December, Robbie Blackhurst, Director of Black Capital Group, said measures announced in Reeves’ budget left “firms to navigate uncertainty with no real long-term support.”

“Construction is the engine room of the UK economy. Housing delivery, infrastructure projects, regional development - all of these rely on a stable and confident sector. 

“But right now, we’re not even meeting the country’s own ambitions. The government’s target is to deliver 300,000 homes a year in England, yet the latest figures show supply falling to just 208,600 net additional dwellings in 2024–25 – barely two-thirds of what’s needed,” he wrote.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer is urged to tackle “an alarming brain drain" in the UK, with experts fearing the growing number of young Brits leaving the country were hurting the economy.

Business founders have previously spoken to LBC about a "scary" trend of people leaving Great Britain because of the high cost of living and an economy which is not doing enough to support growing enterprises.

Rita Kastrati, 26 from London, founded Pioneering People, which connects thousands of workers in the gig economy with same-day jobs and income, and told LBC the number of people ditching Britain was “nerve-wracking”.

Ms Kastrati said: “I just spoke at an investor panel and that was a really hot topic. It's really sad to see because, you know, the UK and London is my absolute home, I was born here, raised here and never left. But now the most trending topic is, are you leaving and when are you leaving?

“I think that’s a bit scary because we don't want that brain drain. We want the fantastic entrepreneurs that have all the great ideas, the innovation, the people that are really going to bring our economy from what it is now, to the next big thing, to stay here. But it just doesn't feel like it's an environment for that.”