The revised international migration figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirm what some have known for some time – the UK is suffering an exodus of its own citizens.
Due to a modernisation of its own methods, the ONS now estimates that over a quarter of a million British nationals – 257,000 – emigrated from the UK during the year ending December 2024 (a marked increase from the initial figure of 77,000 estimated under the previous methodology).
This revised figure for the emigration of UK nationals is a similar number of people to the entire population of the London Borough of Bexley.
This means net emigration of Britons - the difference between departures and arrivals – for this period is 114,000 people, rather than the original estimate of 17,000.
The ONS’ updated net migration estimates now – quite extraordinarily - have a slightly higher and earlier peak of 944,000 in the year ending March 2023, compared with the previous estimate of 906,000 in the year ending June 2023.
The sorry reality is that more British people – feeling suffocated in an overtaxed and expensive economy as well as being trapped in a society defined by various forms of systemic breakdown – have decided that they have no choice but to uproot themselves and seek greener pastures.
While the UK remains one of the largest economies in the world, it's wedded to low growth, sluggish productivity and mass immigration
The latest data on Britons fleeing the UK drops an atom bomb on the entire left-wing project - Rakib Ehsan
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Such is the UK’s decline, Mississippi – traditionally known as America’s poorest state – is now richer per head. In England, one in seven people is on a National Health Service waiting list, with public satisfaction with the NHS being at an all-time low.
There is also a growing sense that the UK’s legal system prioritises the rights of foreign nationals – including illegal migrants who break the law – over the collective security of decent British citizens.
The Home Office is failing when it comes to its core responsibilities of public safety and border security. If people have the capability and resources to relocate, why should they remain locked in a state of pessimism, frustration, and anxiety?
The UK is at risk of a mass exodus of its brightest and best – younger, enterprising people who wish to better themselves in more energetic parts of the world, where they may feel more comfortable in terms of building a healthy family life.
Options include North America and Australasia, Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, along with dynamic Asian financial centres such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
There is also the process of ‘reverse migration’ – where second and third-generation migrants born in the UK are returning to countries of origin that may not be as advanced as the UK, but are fast-growing economies with ample investment opportunities.
While the UK is experiencing an identity crisis of sorts, these countries perhaps have clearer cultural identities on offer.
Without a radical overhaul of its failing economic system, a renewed focus on fostering a more favourable social environment for younger families, and a legal system that prioritises the security of its own people, the UK will continue experiencing the departure of talented and resourceful citizens who feel their country is in irreversible decline.