Thomas Skinner has slammed successive governments for “battering small businesses” as well as “helmets taking the p*** and abusing the system” in a no-holds-barred social media rant.

The Strictly star, who is no stranger to voicing his opinions via X, published the post late on Monday evening, only to remove it soon after.

Mr Skinner regularly uses his online platform to display his patriotic views and pride in Britain, something that resulted in a flood of abuse during his short-lived stint on the BBC’s Strictly this year.

This time around, Mr Skinner bemoaned the number of business owners who’ve upped sticks and ditched the UK due to the current Labour government’s tax policies.

“Thousands of millionaires and business owners have left the UK, more than any other country in the world,” he penned in the now-deleted post.

“That’s billions in tax gone. The economy’s on its knees, and over the past few years, every government that’s come in has absolutely battered small businesses.

“Instead of backing the grafters, the people who actually keep this country going. They’ve made it harder to earn a living, harder to grow, harder to breathe.”

The former Apprentice star went on to claim the UK is “slowly turning into a welfare state” and pointed the blame at “too many helmets” who are “taking the p*** and abusing the system while the rest of us are working our socks off”.

However, despite the bleak outlook portrayed in his update, Mr Skinner signed off with a rallying cry for his supporters.

He went on: “This is when real people, proper grafters, stand up and get it done. We’ve got to knuckle down, build our businesses, support our communities, and back our economy.

“Yeah, times are tough, but tough times create tough people. While the rest of the world looks down on the UK, we’ve got to show them what we’re made of.

“We’re the backbone of this country. We’re the ones who never quit, who make things happen. Fed up of always seeing everyone running this beautiful country down over and over again.

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“Let’s show the world who we are. Let’s get it done. Up the grafters. The backbone of Great Britain, Bosh,” he signed off alongside an emoji of the Union Jack flag.

Inevitably, the post sparked quite the debate among fellow X users, which prompted the 34-year-old to publish another X post, which he also ended up removing from the platform.

Soon after his initial post, he published in a separate update: “I’ve been thinking… everyone’s so angry lately. You go online ,and it’s just hate, arguments, people tearing each other down.

“Strangers in the streets protesting at one another. Life ain’t meant to be like that.”

He went on to reiterate that “times are tough,” but this time he suggested that “moaning” and “pointing fingers” won’t evoke change.

Mr Skinner went on to urge his followers to “have a bit of respect”, “smile at people”, “check in on mates”, and “back local businesses”.

“Just be decent, but most importantly… have a backbone and stand up for what is right, and don’t worry if someone is offended by that.”

In another dig at the government, Mr Skinner signed off: “It ain’t the politicians or the billionaires who’ll fix this country. It’s us… the grafters. The mums, the dads, the people who still get up every day and crack on no matter what.”

Despite the seemingly positive message, both posts have since been deleted by the former Strictly star.

Instead, he replaced his Monday evening posts with a final update that consisted of a sole Union Jack emoji.

He did return to X on Tuesday morning, however, with yet another update for his followers, encouraging them to “hold their heads” high and “keep believing” in themselves.

Mr Skinner’s posts, as has become the norm, sparked a mixed response from his followers and fellow X users.