British exodus: Why top talent leaves as Labour adds record-high taxes
Labourʼs first Budget brings biggest tax rise in decades pushing Britain towards European-style state model. High-skilled workers and wealthy citizens look abroad as public spending hits new peaks
Back in the 60s Harold Wilson watched as skilled workers left Britain due to high taxes - today history seems to be re-writing itself. A modern-day aerospace expert named Leslie Cole took his family to Long Island after getting good job offers; just like many others who dont see future in UK anymore
The new Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer made its first Budget choice - pump £70bn yearly into public sector (which includes £22bn for NHS) and raise taxes to record-high levels. Its a high-stakes bet that might push UK above countries like Spain and Portugal in tax rankings
NHS problems look hard to fix: over 6m patients wait for 7.6m treatments‚ and throwing money at it hasnt worked well before. Between 2019-22 the service got 26% more funding and lots of new staff - but treated fewer patients than pre-covid times. Private health insurance grew 3x faster in 2022 than usual; showing peoples trust is dropping
- Record-high 2.8m people on long-term sick leave
- Welfare costs expected to reach £75bn soon
- Only 2% claimed disability benefits in early 90s vs 6% now
- Mental health claims growing fast
Lord Moynihan (ex-PA consulting chair) thinks the Budget will hurt growth: “Labour picked exactly wrong policies“. The private sector faces bigger taxes while state spending grows - making job creators worried about future hiring. Infrastructure projects might help but they take years to start working
Tax increases might push more skilled people to leave UK - just like in Wilsons time. With top 1% already paying 29% of income tax revenue any exodus could break Labourʼs budget plans. The decade ahead looks tough - unless someone finds way to fix public services without killing growth
