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EXODUS AS RECORD 385,000 QUIT BRITAIN FOR BETTER LIFE

MOVING: Sydney

Thursday August 23,2007

By Jo Macfarlane

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(15)

RECORD numbers are giving up on Britain for good and moving abroad to find a better life.

Long-term migration from the UK reached 385,000 in the 12 months to July last year, the highest figure since 1991.

That means that nearly one in every 150 of the population left to start a new life elsewhere.

The figure has risen by 49,000 – the population of a small town – compared to the previous year.

A strong pound, rising house prices and good job opportunities abroad are the main reasons given by more and more Britons for abandoning their homes.

But many also believe that the country is “going to the dogs” with rising immigration, stealth taxes, terrible weather and political correctness changing the face of Britain.

In the same period, the number of long-term immigrants who arrived here was 574,000.

The figures show that in areas where the number of international immigrants is highest, the level of migration away is also high, suggesting a transformed British culture is driving people abroad.

MigrationWatch’s Sir Andrew Green said: “The number leaving the country has doubled under this Government. Quality of life is a large part of it, along with economic opportunities elsewhere.

“But sometimes people simply feel that society is changing too quickly for their taste.”

The annual figures were released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics.

They follow a 2006 study by the Institute of Public Policy Research which found that almost one in 10 British-born citizens – nearly six million – now lives overseas.

In the last 40 years, 67,500 more Britons have left every year than have returned, a loss which has only been balanced out by increasing immigration. The number who leave permanently has doubled from 53,000 in 2001 to 107,000 in 2005 – 2,000 a week.

The favourite ex-pat locations are Australia, Spain, the US and Canada. But the Middle East and Far East are also attracting increasing numbers.

Just last week, Australia said it wanted to attract more young, professional, English-speaking immigrants, which means the exodus could accelerate.

Danny Sriskandarajah, associate director of the policy research institute, said: “When the going is good, Brits get going.

“A healthy economy at home, especially when house prices are buoyant and the pound is strong, makes it easier to up sticks.

“From Australia to Zambia, Britons are looking for a better job, a better quality of life or a sunny retirement. Very few leave because they think the country has gone to the dogs.”

But David Nicholson-Lord, research associate at the Optimum Population Trust, said: “Out-migration has been climbing for several years. Evidence strongly suggests it is driven by a perceived decline in quality of life, with congestion, queues, overcrowding and general lack of space a key element.

“The new figures indicate more and more people are opting for a more spacious and less fraught existence overseas in countries where there are fewer crowds and there is more room to breathe.

“England is by some measures now the world’s fourth most densely populated country.

“Over the next six decades the UK population is forecast to rise by another 10 million. Given that many of the people leaving will be skilled professionals, the figures suggest that unsustainably high population levels may already be causing economic damage.”

The number leaving the country has doubled under this Government.

TIME TO DIG IN.

23.08.07, 7:55pm

It's no good people fleeing from the politically correct nightmare.
People must start to hit back at it by using the democratic process.

During WW2, people stood their ground and fought. Come on - let's see some bulldog fighting spirit!

• Posted by: RedSquirrel • Report Comment

WHITE FLIGHT

23.08.07, 3:46pm

my sister and her husband moved to spain and i dont blame her,i would move tomorrow if financially i could,but i cant so im going to start shouting from the rooftops about this rotten government,the likes of my dear late father fought for our freedoms in ww2 at the age of 19,and he would turn in his grave to see the way it is now, everyone i talk to detest this crap government,so who are these people who are going to vote for them is it their beloved immigrants,or are the polls just being the mouthpeice of this corrupt lot so people think whats the point odf voting they will only get in again anyway,so they wont bother,if you get my drift,mind you even the daily mail are crawling round brown,the traitors,.and where are the tories in all this,er nowhere as usual,so for me it will be the bnp if they put a candidate in my area at the next election.

• Posted by: pussygalore • Report Comment

WHITE FLIGHT

23.08.07, 3:44pm

• Posted by: pussygalore • Report Comment

EXODUS AS RECORD 385,000 QUIT BRITAIN FOR BETTER LIFE

23.08.07, 2:33pm

You cant blame anyone for quitting this Lawless Tax Tax Tax / Fine Fine Fine Godforsaken Country.

• Posted by: EmperorMing • Report Comment

FIGHT OR FLIGHT, THERE'S NO REAL GETTING AWAY

23.08.07, 12:33pm

These comments say it all. So what went wrong? Well, for a couple of decades or so we’ve allowed a leftie rabble substitute their Marxist idealist nonsense for what was a relatively stable and sane society. Through spitefully clever manipulation coupled with a manic obsession with a socialist idealism, they’ve infiltrated every strata of society helped by a rabidly biased left wing media. All mainstream political parties now fully embrace these warped predominantly Left wing ‘ideologies’ and are forever ducking and diving when they think they’ve been rumbled, only to emerge with much of the same when all the fuss dies down. At the end of the day, it’s always business as usual so why vote for them? The only political party that has shown real courage, of course, is the BNP, which all mainstream parties fear because it calls their bluff and exposes them for what they really are. It also holds up a mirror to our own laziness, weakness and guilt for allowing this lunacy to take over in the first place. The question is do we say good luck to those Brits who are leaving or condemn them for not staying behind and fighting this rottenness? Whatever the answer there’s no getting away from the fact that we’re all to blame.

• Posted by: stevgillamos • Report Comment

RE: EXODUS AS RECORD 385,000 QUIT BRITAIN FOR BETTER LIFE

23.08.07, 11:58am

I first saw this item on the BBC breakfast news (the government’s Bullshit Broadcasting Company), and as usual they chose to put their distinct PC slant on the story and conveniently bypass the real reasons that UK citizens were leaving in such large numbers; only to be replaced by even greater numbers of non UK nationals. Unfortunately, this despicable trend of PC broadcasting has become endemic throughout our left wing media, and as a consequence contributes absolutely nothing to the real debate.

Personally, I have come to the conclusion that there is little hope for any of us; wherever we choose to live. Ultimately the technology to control us, which is being wheeled out at an alarming rate (without challenge), will allow whatever government in whatever country to make slaves of us all. The obvious need to address the overpopulation of the planet and lack of natural resources, will no doubt lead to drastic measures, and I would not be surprised to see the outbreak of another ‘mysterious’ (man made) and previously unknown diseases without any known cure (i.e. AIDS), which of course will conveniently help reduce the population without the need for a large scale war (cull) or direct government intervention. So whether you choose to emigrate or stay put the outcome will be exactly the same, the only difference will be a possible short term enhancement in your quality of life and the subsequent timing of your demise…I say god help us all!

• Posted by: Noplebeian • Report Comment