UK Soft Power Council

Friday 17th January 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)]

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Latin America and Caribbean (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) has today made the following statement:

I would like to update Parliament on the UK Government approach to soft power. The global community faces some of the greatest challenges of our lifetime: conflict across multiple continents, the climate and nature emergency, the threat of harms flowing from unregulated emerging technologies and their use by hostile states. Our rules-based international order, historically used to tackle these issues, is under attack. To meet these challenges, the UK must collaborate and take action.

Our offer to the world is unique: we are a beacon of democracy underpinned by a talented and independent judiciary. We boast internationally recognised cultural, creative and sporting sectors, vibrant in all four corners of our country and around the world. We have a world-class education system, resilient and revered financial and legal sectors, and groundbreaking science, technology and research centres. The impact of the BBC World Service and British Council is unparalleled.

The spirit of the United Kingdom is built on tolerance, fairness, diversity and inclusivity, and we ground our approach on values. The UK does not sit still; rather, we continue to look at how we can do things differently and find innovative solutions to the problems we and the world face.

While others seek to weaponise their soft power, we seek to collaborate and forge partnerships. If we are to make progress on the challenges that we face, and create a world that is safer, fairer and more prosperous for all, we must engage the sectors, institutions and networks that together contribute to our success and best project those to the world.

It is no longer viable to rely solely on hard tools. A modern, dynamic, engaged Britain unlocks the power of our strongest assets. We must use soft power to deliver hard goals.

New Soft Power Council

Today, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and I are launching a new UK Soft Power Council and will convene its inaugural meeting on 15 January.

For the first time, we are bringing together some of the most influential figures across our world-leading sectors in soft power and foreign policy to steer and advise Government.

This council reflects the depth and breadth of our culture, creative, sports, education and science and technology sectors, and will tap into UK expertise on security, climate and nature and development, and our values and institutions.

This is not just an advisory group. The Soft Power Council will enable us to build stronger partnerships with external organisations at home and abroad, identify opportunities to strengthen our reach and reputation and shore up our influence for a generation.

Core to the Council’s mission is the pursuit of economic growth, ensuring a coherent, strategic, approach to soft power that brings tangible economic benefits to citizens across the UK.

Together the Soft Power Council will help the UK Government shape and drive a new UK soft power strategy that will deliver on our foreign policy priorities, bring momentum to campaigns that deploy our soft power and broaden the reach of the major soft power and foreign policy moments in the global calendar. We look forward to inviting contributions from the full range of Parliamentarians to support this initiative.

Co-chaired by us as Secretaries of State, the members of the Soft Power Council are:

Foreign policy