Yeah, the UK cannot deny entry to EU citizens, no matter how unskilled, so to make the number of immigrants more politically palatable, they're cracking down on non-EU citizens, no matter how skilled.
Easiest way into the UK is probably to naturalize in some other EU country first. I wonder where is easiest? Germany, Belgium, Ireland?
Portugal has a Golden Visa scheme, which "gives foreign investors who spend 500,000 euros on a property ... the right to live in Portugal ... They are also free to travel around all the EU countries ... and after six years they can apply for Portuguese citizenship" according to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26636829 .
Malta has the reputation of being the easiest to acquire EU citizenship.
It's unlikely that Germany would be one of the easiest, as it requires 8 years of permanent residence to become a citizen. After living in Germany for 8 years it's unlikely you'd still want to move to the UK anyway, as you would have learnt the language and have come to appreciate the higher quality of living.
I know Malta sells citizenship for some million Euro, but having millions of disposable Euros doesn't sound "easy" for most people :)
The question is entirely academic for me, since I'm close to having a green card in the US. But is the quality of life in Germany really better than UK? I'm from South Africa and speak some Afrikaans, so I suspect I could learn German more easily than your average English speaker.
Of course one disadvantage of Germany is they don't allow dual citizenship...
In fact, if you're a non-EU national, the easiest way to get into the UK is to marry (or be in a civil partnership or in a long-term relationship with) a (non-British) EU national. The paperwork is simple, cheap, and although it's not exactly fast you get a temporary certificate within a week or so.
Some of the highly English-speaking countries, like the Nordics, might be a good option.
Better act fast though, before the UK "brexits" the EU. I have no idea how difficult it would be for people(/me) to keep their(/my) address and company in the UK in that scenario.
Easiest way into the UK is probably to naturalize in some other EU country first. I wonder where is easiest? Germany, Belgium, Ireland?