Brain drain fears as record number of Britons emigrate

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to tackle a “dangerous brain drain” that is harming the UK economy, just days before next week’s make-or-break Budget, after official figures showed that the number of Britons leaving the UK is far higher than was previously thought.

- KATE DEVLIN, DAVID MADDOX

A total of 257,000 British nationals are now thought to have left the country last year - 180,000 more than the initial estimate of just 77,000, according to the statistics, which also revealed that net migration had reached a new record high.

In the three years between the end of 2021 and the end of 2024, 344,000 more Britons are believed to have emigrated than the original estimate indicated, after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) updated its methodology.

The extent of migration away from the UK comes as a blow to Sir Keir just a week before his government's crucial Budget, amid claims that Downing Street is panicking about how to save his premiership.

Karl Williams, research director at right-wing think tank the Centre for Policy Studies, told The Independent that the figures point to "an alarming brain drain, with net emigration of British nationals both much higher than previously thought, and accelerating".