Prof Mark R Sanderson says the council is Britain’s most effective instrument of soft power and should be funded properly, not hollowed out
The hollowing out of the British Council across Europe should alarm anyone who cares about the UK’s standing in the world (Soft power sell-off: anger as British Council announces sale of historic Madrid building, 22 May). For decades, it has been one of Britain’s most effective instruments of soft power, teaching English, supporting cultural and scientific exchange, and building long‑term goodwill that no advertising campaign could buy.
The proposed sale or downsizing of long‑established teaching centres with the huge loss of dedicated skilled staff in Madrid, Milan and Naples would be an irreparable loss. These buildings were acquired when city‑centre property was affordable; replacing them would be impossible at anything like the same cost. We have already seen the disappearance of the council’s excellent libraries in Paris, Rome, Athens and Lisbon – collections built up over many decades and once central to Britain’s cultural presence in Europe.
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