new brain drain: why are the young leaving Britain?

'Britain is fossilising and people under 50 should leave for a better life'

Professor Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh, is one of my favourite regular contributors to Thought for the Day on the Today programme. Last week she spoke about why her son, a doctor, is leaving Britain to work in Australia.

I pricked up my ears because just a few days before I had met someone at a wedding whose son, also a doctor, had moved to Perth in Australia, for a much higher salary and a much better quality of life for him and his family. His father applauded his decision. It seemed to him entirely rational. Why not leave for a better income and a better standard of living?

Of course, some might say: don’t these young doctors owe something to Britain where they were educated and trained and had respected jobs with the NHS? Professor Siddiqui raised these very points.

But there is a larger question which rarely gets discussed in the mainstream media. Why are so many of our best and brightest leaving Britain? Back in the early 1980s, I was one of a number of graduate students offered scholarships to study in America. It didn’t occur to me at the time, but what is striking now is that every one of that cohort returned to Britain at the end of their scholarships.

None of us were tempted to stay. Not because we didn’t hugely enjoy our time in America, making lifelong friends, being taught by superb professors and getting to know the United States. But despite this, we all returned without any hesitation and we were very lucky. We were part of that generation who were able (mostly) to build decent careers, afford nice homes and send our children to top schools.

Now I look at the children of that generation, people in their late 20s and early 30s, and they seem to be leaving in large numbers, not just for a couple of years, but for good. They mostly fall into five categories. First, those who have studied for MBAs in America and have stayed to work there in business or finance. Second, those who have gone to work in tech. Third, those who have gone to study but unlike my contemporaries have stayed to teach in universities. Fourth, those who have moved to Israel or Australia to work in medicine or medical research. And, finally, a curiously large number who have moved to Germany, Scandinavia or America to work in music, as composers or musicians.

It is interesting to see where they are not going. Not to the post-colonial world or to most parts of Europe. None have moved permanently to France or Italy and only one has moved to east Europe. Another has moved to Belgium. But that’s it. The EU heartland has little appeal apart from the world of classical music. Classical music is one of the areas that stands out. Brexit and funding cuts in British orchestras are driving a lot of talented young composers and musicians abroad. Brooklyn, Copenhagen and Germany seem more appealing.

So what explains this move? The obvious explanation is the decline of Britain and many of its key institutions. When I talk to friends who have had long and distinguished careers as academics or medical scientists, a surprising number are demoralised and unhappy. Partly, of course, because of funding. But for some it is because of the new work culture of the past decade. They are not surprised their children or their children’s friends are leaving in such large numbers and are not expecting them to come back.

There are other issues. Quality of life. Their children can no longer afford to live in large parts of Britain, especially in London and the South-East. Younger people certainly can’t afford to send their children to private schools. There is a lot of debate about whether private schools should have their charity status removed. However, that’s becoming increasingly irrelevant. The fact is many parents in their 30s and 40s simply can’t afford private schools, full stop. When I was at an independent school as a 6th former many of the parents were academics, museum curators, publishers, TV producers and doctors. Not now.

At the same time, the appeal of the best independent schools is fast declining as many of the best universities prefer to give places to bright state school students than to bright applicants from private schools. The long-term consequences of this for these universities is not hard to predict as more applicants from private schools choose to study in America.

Finally, there is another reason why American universities seem more attractive. A disproportionate number, and you will certainly never hear this addressed in the mainstream media, are Jewish and can’t bear the increasingly antisemitic and anti-Zionist culture in our universities. So they choose to study in America or Israel instead.

Many will say this brain drain is the result of Brexit and the growing economic crisis of the 2020s. This is partly true. But there is a wide range of causes which should give us all pause for thought. As a new Prime Minister takes office, we should worry about why so many young people want to leave Britain and build their lives abroad and why no one in politics or the media wants to talk about this or propose ways of making this country more attractive to young people.