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Baroness Northover (LD)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 11 November 2025

Debate

British Council

Contribution

My Lords, I was very surprised to hear the Minister’s response on the art collection and the indication that it would be okay, therefore, if the British Council sold this off. Would it not make a lot more sense for us to keep that within public ownership in the way that the British Council has proposed, as a way of offsetting the loan? Surely the Treasury should be looking at it in that light. To have heard the Minister’s response does not inspire me with confidence. I want to add that, on soft power, I hope the Government will support the BBC, which we now see is under dire pressure. As the Minister said herself, the BBC is very important for soft power and international renown as far as the United Kingdom and the wider world are concerned.

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