Let’s be proud and unapologetic in celebrating British culture
Spectators in the overnight queue for the 2026 Wimbledon Championships (PA Images/Alamy)
3 min read
Taking on the digital, culture, media and sport brief has been a real privilege – and a reminder of just how much Britain has to be proud of.
In my first few weeks alone, I have seen the extraordinary Bayeux Tapestry and attended the Last Night of the Proms. Few jobs offer such an immediate immersion in our history, culture and talent.
Britain’s cultural strength is remarkable – our films and television are watched around the world. Our music, fashion, theatre and literature have extraordinary reach. Our museums and galleries contain some of the world’s greatest collections. Our historic buildings connect us to generations before us, while sporting occasions from Wimbledon and the Ashes to the Premier League bring millions of people together.
We should be unapologetic and confident in celebrating all of this.
One of the many reasons culture matters is because it helps bind a country together. Shared experiences give us common reference points. Cheering on a football team, standing in a concert crowd or wandering around a museum can bring you alongside people with whom you may have little else in common. In that moment, it is enough that you are there together.
In a country as varied as modern Britain, those points of connection matter enormously. Our shared culture, history and national institutions create a vital sense that, whatever our differences, we belong to something bigger. We must hold on to that commonality even when others seek to denigrate it.
TS Eliot wrote that “culture may even be described simply as that which makes life worth living”. I agree, but there is another reason we should be ambitious about Britain’s cultural strengths – they are an enormous engine of economic growth.
The creative industries contribute nearly £150bn to the UK economy, while tourism contributes more than £64bn. These are major employers and wealth creators, supporting businesses and livelihoods in communities across the country. The creative industries alone account for 5.5 per cent of UK GVA and have actually been growing faster than the wider economy.
We should therefore think about culture not simply as something to preserve or enjoy, but as one of Britain’s great drivers of future prosperity.
We should be proud of the country we have inherited
That means creating the conditions in which our creative businesses can invest, innovate and grow. It means recognising that a successful visitor economy supports far more than our best-known attractions: it sustains hotels, restaurants, pubs, shops and high streets throughout the country.
This also means being ambitious about Britain’s place in the world. We already have cultural assets that are the envy of the world. The challenge is to make the most of them – attracting more visitors, investment and talent while helping British businesses and creativity reach still larger global audiences.
Pride in our culture and economic ambition go very much hand in hand.
Confidence in what we have inherited should make us ambitious for what comes next. British culture has always evolved, with each generation adding something new to what came before.
Our responsibility is to cherish the institutions and culture that make Britain special, while creating the conditions for today’s artists, entrepreneurs, sportspeople and creative businesses to flourish.
Britain has a unique national story to tell and a cultural richness to be proud of. My ambition is that we become more confident about both. We should be proud of the country we have inherited, ambitious for the culture we are building and determined to unlock the jobs, growth and opportunity that come with it.
A great country should know the value of what it has, and Britain has so much going for it. It is time we made the most of it.
Rebecca Paul is Conservative MP for Reigate and shadow digital, culture, media and sport secretary
