There’s been a lot of talk about how the UK’s richest people are threatening to turn tail and leave the country (usually due to the suggestion that they pay a bit more tax on their vast swathes of wealth). But while these multi-millionaires can talk the talk, it turns out they’re not the ones actually walking the walk.
In reality, it’s the nation’s young people who are “quiet quitting” the UK in droves, according to new ONS figures. Net migration – the number of people coming to the UK versus the number departing – fell by 445,000 between June 2024 and June 2025. During those 12 months, 693,000 individuals left the British Isles, the biggest number in a century.
