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.
Since Brexit, the council has lost access to EU programmes that previously supported a significant part of its European work. Combined with the financial shock of the pandemic, this has led to closures, redundancies and a retreat from a continent where the UK once had a strong cultural footprint. This is happening precisely when Britain needs more international engagement, not less.
The British Council is not a luxury. It is a strategic asset and it deserves stable funding and a clear role in Britain’s post‑Brexit foreign policy.
Prof Mark R Sanderson
London