Why ‘brainy’ Brits are quitting the UK for Italy in their droves after ‘Labour ruined the country’

IT is just after 3pm and Natasha Slater is buzzing with energy as she sips on an espresso, surrounded by diners wearing Gucci and Prada.

Tonight, she will be hosting a glamorous gathering of artists, designers, entrepreneurs and creative types at the five-star Principe Di Savoia hotel in Italy’s fashion capital, Milan.

It’s the type of soiree that would have been commonplace in her native London a few years ago, before the current Labour government was elected.

But businesswoman Natasha, 51, has seen ­thousands of professional Brits leave the UK, having become fed up with punishing tax rises designed to plug a “£20billion Budget black hole” that Chancellor Rachel Reeves claims we are facing.

She said: “There are more and more people moving here from the UK and they are understandably upset because they feel like they are under attack. These are wealthy ­individuals who are happy to pay tax but they don’t want to feel like they are being punished.

“These are people who travel regularly for work and probably already have properties in different countries, so if the ­current government isn’t for them, the feeling is: why should we stay?”

In the UK, inflation and unemployment are both rising after it was decided to raise employer ­National Insurance contributions by 1.2 per cent in April.

‘Momentum changed’

New Office for National Statistics figures show that in the year to June, 693,000 residents quit the UK — 252,000 of them British nationals.

That number included 174,000 16 to 34-year-olds, leading to fears of a “brain drain” of young and hard-working professionals.

Policies influencing the exodus include the abolition of the non-dom system that previously allowed foreign residents to protect their overseas earnings and assets from the British taxman, and a major overhaul of inheritance tax.

Not to mention a new “mansion tax” on properties worth over £2million, unveiled during this week’s much-derided Budget.

Having founded The Robin ­private members’ club in Milan in northern Italy two years ago, ­Natasha has seen Brits flood to the city — lured there by favourable taxes, chic culture and ­comparatively safe streets.

Natasha, who grew up in North London, explained: “As a Brit looking at it from the outside, I found it quite sad. London was once the most important city in the world, but the momentum has changed and people don’t want to live there any more.

“There is this feeling that Labour has ruined the country and made a complete mess, so it feels like Britain has become the pits.

“Milan as a location is really attractive because you can drive up into the mountains or down to the beach in Portofino — which is not like a beach in Essex, it’s one of the top luxury ­destinations in the world — in an hour-and-a-half.

“The food is superior and it’s a lot more affordable compared to a night out in London.

“And Milan is a hard-working city with the energy of Manhattan. Everything’s open at all times of day.

“There is crime here, but it is nowhere near comparable to London.

There is crime here, but it is nowhere near comparable to London

Natasha Slater

“People can walk around with a nice watch and not feel terrified, and it’s possible to have a phone call without it being snatched from your hand. I know lots of Italians moving back, and lots of UK residents.”

It’s a situation that Natasha expects to worsen after Rachel Reeves’ Budget on Wednesday brought in a swathe of new tax measures — including the “mansion tax” — to help pay for the UK’s ballooning benefits bill.

Other measures unveiled included tax thresholds being frozen until 2031, creating the highest tax burden in 70 years, and the inheritance tax threshold also frozen until 2030/31.

It had previously been announced that pension pots would be made subject to inheritance tax from April 2027.

But it’s not just Brits who have had enough.

A total of 12,000 ­Italian nationals quit the UK last year, with 93 per cent of them being of working age.

After Brexit, the thinking was that the UK government would increase the tax benefits of moving to Britain, but in reality the ­opposite has happened

Antonio Tomassini

Census data shows there were 29,560 Italians living in our country by 2011, following wave after wave of immigration from their often crisis-plagued homeland, famed for its political and economic instability.

But while Italians used to feel they would enjoy better job ­opportunities and pay in Britain, that is no longer the case.

The reverse migration wave is fuelled by generous tax incentives that encourage Italian nationals to return home — and foreign ­residents to make the switch.

Since 2015, high net worth individuals have been offered a flat tax rate of 100,000 euros per year, ­rising to 200,000 euros last year.

Meanwhile, the Rientro dei Cervelli “return of the brains” scheme allows both Italian nationals and skilled foreign workers to pay tax on just 50 per cent of their income for five years, meaning big savings.

Local tax lawyer Antonio Tomassini says there are thousands of foreign nationals in Italy taking advantage of the flat tax, with ten per cent of them hailing from the UK.

Antonio, who works with law firm DLA Piper, said: “Clients I speak to ­complain about your ­government because they were really enjoying living in London.

“They were happy with the schools their children went to and the services on offer, so they didn’t want to leave. But changes to the tax law forced them out.

‘Didn’t want to leave’

“After Brexit, the thinking was that the UK government would increase the tax benefits of moving to Britain, but in reality the ­opposite has happened.

“Milan is booming and property prices are going up because we don’t have enough good houses.

“For prime properties, the average price per square metre has risen from 10,000 euros to 15,000 euros in the past three years.”

Young professional Brits in Milan can find themselves rubbing shoulders with the world’s super-rich.

More and more people are moving here from the UK. They feel they are under attack. These people are happy to pay tax but don’t want to feel like they are being punished

Natasha Slater

Nassef Sawiris, Egypt’s wealthiest man and chairman of Aston Villa, has moved there recently, as has Richard Gnodde, vice-chairman of ­banking titans Goldman Sachs.

From 2023 to 2028, Swiss bank UBS forecasts a 17 per cent fall in ­the numbner of millionaires living in Britain.

In the same period, they predict a nine per cent increase for Italy.

The country now ranks as the third most popular relocation ­destination for millionaires, according to statistics published by consultancy firm Henley & Partners.

Its 2025 report calculates that of the 142,000 millionaires expected to relocate worldwide, 3,600 will have chosen Italy by the end of the year — up 20 per cent in a decade.

Fiorenza Lipparini, of the Milano & Partners agency that helps ­newcomers settle in Milan, moved to the city in 2015 after six years in London.

Leaving London broke my heart because it used to be the place to be

Fiorenza Lipparini

She said: “Leaving London broke my heart because it used to be the place to be.

“But there’s definitely been a change in the past few years.

“You hear more English accents as you walk around here, and the one local British school is expanding as it has taken on so many pupils.

“I have friends from the UK and they say they are devastated at where their country is heading. They say Italy has become more reliable, which is strange for an Italian to hear.

“It seems to me that Labour is trying a lot of things without ­having a real plan and Wednesday’s Budget is another example.

“Britain used to be a welcoming place that was so diverse and entrepreneurial, but that’s changing fast. I think you risk losing even more people if things continue as they are, and that will be so sad.”

Simone Orlandi, who coordinates Milan’s councillors in the ruling Brothers Of Italy party, says of the influx to his city: “UK policies do play a role, particularly from a financial point of view.

“Italy — and Milan in particular — has become attractive thanks to tax incentives and favourable conditions for newcomers, which make relocating not only appealing in terms of lifestyle, but also advantageous economically.”