Do you really think that New Zealand is faring better economically than Britain ? The GDP per capita (PPP) of New Zealand is lower than that of Italy or Spain. A
recent study predicts that the British economy will outgrow other West European ones and overtake Germany's by 2030.
I will admit that my thinking is subjective, based on anecdotal evidence. Britain to me seems like a very crowded place, very expensive, with a lot of big city blight, crime and poverty. Although it has some very nice rural areas, it's very expensive to buy a house in any part of the country where I would want to live. And I have relatives in Britain, and they all seem to think that the quality of life has deteriorated there, with growing poverty, crime and social inequity, and the National Health Service is deteriorating. I've never been to New Zealand, but I know several people who have, and they all seem to like it, and say that it's a very safe, pleasant place with fresh air and a good climate. Whereas the UK seems to have a lot of social problems, and it seems to me that life there is not very good for people in big cities with a low or average income (i.e., most people).
I tried to find some actual statistics so I could compare Britain to New Zealand, although you've probably heard that saying that there are lies, damned lies and statistics. According to the UN, the GDP of New Zealand for 2012 was $38,3999 US compared to $39,367 for the UK, so that the UK GDP is only slightly higher. The same list of statistics show Germany at $41,866, Italy at $33,069 and Spain at $28,278. So according to these statistics, there isn't a lot of difference in income between NZ and the UK, and NZ is more prosperous than Italy or Spain. However, there are no doubt other statistics that show a different result.