Much is made of immigration into Britain these days and the newspapers often run scare stories on the number of those coming into the British Isles. Very rarely is there any press coverage of those who leave Britain. In December 2006 a report, Brits Abroad, released by the Institute for Public Policy Research said that 5.5 million British people live permanently abroad. 198,000 people left the UK in 2005 to live permanently abroad, whilst 91,000 returned from abroad. Two thirds of emigrating Britains leave to look for work and there has been a significant increase in those who leave to retire abroad.

The number of people emigrating from Britain has been rising in recent years and the researchers believe this is due to the internet and satelite communications and cheap travel facilitating easier links with ex-pat communities. The report said that the rising trend of emigration from the United Kingdom is likely to continue to rise. Apparently only China and India have more nationals living abroad than the United Kingdom a fact which astounded me.

The report further suggested that the Government should use British people living abroad to help to promote British Trade and Industry. This would seem to make good sense, I know lots of ex-pats who would be only too pleased to help out the Old Country. Why not use the resources amongst the ex-pat British communities around the World?

The concern about immigration and the concentration on these figures has been masking a rising trend of Emigration from the UK. One wonders how the figures of emigrants who leave Britain permanently to look for work break down into professions. Is this the new Brain- drain.