# Why young high achievers are leaving Britain

An episode of [The Story](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1501716010), 5 Aug 2026, 28 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/storiesofourtimes/e/6a72186e919aaf59749867c7/media.mp3

‘There’s something wrong when aspirational high achievers see no future for themselves here,’ says Times columnist Cindy Yu. The exodus is small, but growing - the Office for National Statistics says there’s been a fivefold increase in 25-to-34-year-old British nationals leaving the UK since 2022. But why are they off, what are they searching for, and could anything encourage them to stay? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guests: • Cindy Yu, columnist and contributing editor, The Times and The Sunday Times. • Dan Lowe, physiotherapist and content creator. • Jessica Ye, doctor. Host: Luke Jones Producers: Olivia Case, Jennifer Kennedy, Shabnam Grewal We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com Read more: Why my friends talk about leaving Britain. Photo: Getty Images This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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