Is it still acceptable to celebrate success and quality, in a media world where the voices of negativism shout loudest? The UK has assets, products and services which are the best or among the best in class in the world. They are the envy of other nations some of which, like Russia and China, relish and indeed encourage those self-destructive elements of UK society. Decisions, behaviour and ideas which could seriously damage UK winners must surely be challenged and beaten away. Rather, those winners need to be nurtured and supported. Among them, are the UK’s rich history and the Royal family as part of a real democracy; London, its diversity of people and culture, and its highly successful financial centre; and much of UK education. Celebration of what is special, top quality, and relentless promotion of it, and a constant striving to improve are key planks in building recovery and growth.
THE ROYAL USP
Like the Royal Family or not, there is a consensus that the UK leads the world in ceremony and pageantry, at the heart of which is the Royal Family. The funeral of Queen Elizabeth and the coronation of King Charles have reinforced that standing. The Royal Family has been a constant and an anchor in times of stress. It certainly does not undermine democracy, which operates highly effectively in the UK, but lives alongside it respectfully.
In modern times, the Royal Family has evolved and must continue to evolve with societal change. But is it not a UK unique selling point? Even if seen by some as an anachronism, it intrigues the world at large and marks out the UK. Some despise the Commonwealth as a remnant of empire, but it too is unique in a world of conflict, whether that conflict is acknowledged or ignored. In fact, a voluntary “alliance” of races, colours and creeds, not necessarily in total harmonious agreement but which at least comprises a forum where decent aspirations can be shared and constructive conversations had, is perhaps a way to progress. Surely the world needs more of that, when the United Nations is corrupted by the malicious ambitions of some powerful nations? The idea of constructive and respectful conversation is critical to resolution of differences and conflict, but it is under bombardment from those whose intolerance of the different opinions of others drives a cacophony of destructive aggression across social and other more traditional media.
If British royalty are to survive, they obviously, like any endangered species, must adapt and change. Their family, like a lot of families, has some dysfunctionality, but commitment by many of their members to “service” is a salutary lesson for many of us, for whom self-interest and promotion seem common drivers. They can be a force for good: their involvement in destigmatising mental health and sponsorship of so many charitable enterprises, and the work in promoting Early Years education are valuable contributions.
The Coronation exemplified excellence of organisation skills and of competence at delivery, which since the pandemic has been in shorter supply across many walks of life. The dedication and sheer hard work of all involved, especially the armed forces and emergency services, to ensure a “like clockwork” and perfect performance is a lesson about what Britain is good at, and also a lesson of excellence for people to aspire to. For those today where the idea of working is unattractive and dependence on the State is a way of life they can be satisfied with, maybe there is something to encourage them to shed this insidious apathy. And the event, even though not approved by all, generated a spirit of togetherness and conviviality, and for that, the Royal Family and all involved are to be applauded. Do not the voices which breathe hatred and spite, or seek to silence contrary opinion, intolerant and belittling, need to be overcome by values of unity, tolerance, freedom and commitment? The Royal family are significant contributors to those values.
Should this country perhaps be slow to destroy something so patently special?
LONDON – BEST CITY IN THE WORLD?
There is a lot to improve in London, as there is in perhaps every big city in the world. But, having said that, it is rated for example by “Resonance”, a real estate and tourism consultancy, as the best city in the world. Others may place it less than best, but it is certainly up there. History is at its heart and for arts and culture is it not a leading centre? Much of London has reinvented itself and, to maintain its desirability, will have to keep doing so. It must not price itself out of reach of British people and that is a risk that needs addressing. Building of so many apartments such as along the river at Nine Elms so much of which is only in the reach of mainly foreign buyers may be a tendency to be stemmed. Affordable housing for Londoners is a must. Otherwise, maintenance of services could be impossible if workers such as nurses and teachers cannot afford to live in London. The neighbourhoods of poverty need always to be tackled. But it is as diverse and cosmopolitan as any major city in the world, and the most diverse in the UK itself, with some 35% of its population being born outside the UK. Does this reasonably harmonious diversity not resonate with the values of unity, tolerance, freedom and commitment already identified, although there is much to improve?
Recent economic analysis shows it still has the fastest growth of any UK region, faring well even after the pandemic. It surely must not be levelled down, but other regions need to be brought up to its standard or better; focus on improving this top-quality UK asset must continue.
The finance industry based in and around the City of London makes it the top city in the world for international financial services: first for international debt issuance, the first for foreign exchange, the first for insurance, and the UK, largely through London, is the second biggest country for asset management after only the USA. London’s courts host some of the toughest international disputes and the professional services available in London, operating globally, are second to none.
Many Asian and European cities would like to win away London’s business. European lobbies seek to get the European Commission to ensure minimisation of London services as they relate to the EU community. Many said Brexit would ruin the City with a huge exodus to the EU, but the exodus has been minimal. Where it has allowed itself to fall behind, such as in trading equities, it needs to adapt and change to win back: this requires Government, regulators and businesses to work together constructively and creatively to change to ensure competitiveness, without excessive risk to effectiveness and reputation. But there will always be challenges and historically the City has risen to overcome them.
London has been for years the top technology hub for investment in Europe, with 18 billion Euros raised in 2022. But other cities like Berlin and Paris are becoming more attractive than before. Why has Austin, Texas, not California, been the biggest technology hub in the USA for the last 3 years? Core reasons are said to be not too much business regulation, low taxes, lower cost of living than many places and attractive to young entrepreneurs and professionals as well as leading tech companies. And it is apparently a pleasant city to live in. Is there a lesson here for London and the rest of the UK? In a competitive world, if a leading status is lost, it is hard to recover it. This top-quality attribute of London and the UK in technology and innovation perhaps needs far more positive action from Government and UK institutions, if this country is to compete with the massive subsidies being doled out in Europe and the USA to their tech industries designed to attract investment to their regions.
The concept of levelling by bringing the less good up to the standard of the better, rather than diminishing the better, is a principle worth recording, especially when considering next the high quality assets in the UK in the education sector.
PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION
The UK has some very good schools, both in the public and private sectors. The cost of educating a child in the private sector means that option is available to the very wealthy or those with considerably higher than average after tax incomes many of whom may choose to make other sacrifices to spend money to provide a private education for their children. In the UK, some 2600 private schools educate some 616,000 children, about 7% of the child population. Of sixth formers, some 17-18% go to private schools. There is a long ongoing debate as to whether private schools should be allowed to exist at all, where money buys education, which it may be argued is unfair on those who cannot afford it. This article has not the space for that debate. However, it is perhaps worth a couple of reflections.
Freedom of choice in how to spend income, after paying due tax, is a fundamental freedom in the UK.
The best publicly funded schools are as good as the best private schools. Total equality in almost anything is never achievable or perhaps even desirable. Also, within the publicly funded sector, there are huge differences between schools and the quality of education provided for a variety of reasons: first there are catchment areas with major differences, and second some teachers are better than others, and some are a lot better. Any one child’s education hinges largely on the quality of teachers available and perhaps most important the commitment to their learning at home, that is by their parents, who will always come in all shapes and sizes in that respect. The biggest challenge facing education is to get consistent excellence rolled out across the UK at primary and secondary levels, and perhaps the private sector should be enlisted even more to assist in that. Without doubt, a number of private schools are real centres of excellence, and to damage that would be a foolish act of self-harm by the UK.
Many private schools have charitable status. Many do a lot of community good, with extensive social responsibility programmes, as well as significant bursaries making excellent education available to children of undoubted ability but deprived of good opportunity to maximise their potential. Some schools commit time of their best teachers to assisting local schools. The best-known private schools are often spoken of derisively for political ends. One such school developed in the pandemic on-line high-quality courses which it made available free, and which were taken up by over 1000 publicly funded schools. Many make their facilities available free to public schools in their community. Many provide a good quality education consistently and there are of course some which are less good. The good ones typically set high standards of ability to qualify for entry. If that charitable status is removed and VAT charged on school fees, the impact is hard to assess but it will certainly damage the education sector. Unless a particular school can find an imaginative solution, there will be a number of parents who now send their children to private school who will cease to be able to. Some schools may disappear. School cultures may alter for the worse as only the wealthiest households will send their children, or more non-UK wealthy people from abroad will fill the gaps. It will be important that dogma is not allowed to destroy educational excellence.
Parents send children to their chosen private school to maximise their talents and so improve their life chances and including the possibility of a University education. More top Universities are actively trying to take more children from the public sector if they see the necessary potential, in preference to privately educated children. Again, this has merit to some degree. One has to accept that an effect of this disadvantaging of the private school “privileged” child is that some of the most able in this country in increasing numbers will instead choose top American universities who welcome them with open arms, and they may never return to the UK.
This topic is charged with emotion and language of divisiveness, which needs to stop. An important freedom remains the freedom for individual people to choose how to spend their resources. It is suggested that, instead of damaging the private school system and so affecting that choice, the best way to narrow the gap, if that is the aim, is again to upgrade the less good schools in the public system and focus resources there, so that parents feel no need to choose private education. Hopefully, there is a near universal consensus in the UK that a good education is at the heart of people and the country succeeding.
As to UK Universities, more rank in the top 50 in the world than from any other country bar the USA. Oxford and Cambridge are in the top 10. Four of the top 10 medical universities are in the UK. It is however notable that a number have dropped position this year as other countries improve, notably China.
It is however apparent that increasingly in the modern world as more youngsters in the UK attend university, more and more are not getting the type of skills suited to them and not maximising their talent, as they achieve degrees often in subjects which are useless to them. Arguably they waste 3 years, come out with a lot of debt much of which will never be repaid, and are disappointed that they cannot get jobs which are highly skilled and paid. A University education is not a holy grail and perhaps far more focus and honesty is needed about whether a university education is suitable for a particular child or whether an apprenticeship or specific skill training would give them better opportunity and serve better the needs of the country. The good Universities have best in class research facilities in a variety of specialisms, which is a huge national asset, to be appreciated and built upon. These can provide a differentiating winning capacity over other nations in advanced sectors like life sciences and artificial intelligence, the importance of which is only now being appreciated: but they need unswerving significant support. Playing to these strengths will create winners.
It is essential that UK Universities primarily serve young citizens to become successful in the widest sense. Careful management in the interests of the UK of the level to which Universities provide education to foreign students is essential. In 2021-2022 some 680,000 international students were studying in the UK, an example of global UK and a testament to the reputation of the UK education system. Some 152,000 were Chinese. The international student brings substantial income to universities, as well as diversity. The UK taxpayer also provides support and benefits to them, such as income support and housing benefit. They use housing and services. It is essential this welcoming of the international student is not to the detriment of the UK student. It will also be important, given the Chinese declared policy to undermine UK society and democracy, that they and other malevolent States cannot use the influence their students bring to alter culture and values adversely or even as spies.
It is vital to maintain quality. Perhaps many of the least good Universities should be scrapped as quality is put first. For the good ones, to produce citizens of high integrity, competence and resilience needs to come way up the list of priorities. Given the UK is rich in quality educational institutions, again the envy of many others, Government and businesses should be capitalising on this and expending resources to keep them as winners, and not let them decline competitively. The approach to improving schools will in turn knock on to the quality of students in university education. The two are linked inexorably.
DOING BETTER WHAT THE UK DOES WELL
There are numerous other areas and businesses, and regions and activities, than those mentioned above where the UK is excelling, including the Premier football league, other sports, music, arts, life sciences, sophisticated services and specialist manufacturing. Just as people should focus on honing what they are good at to become even better, so too is it perhaps a sound policy for the UK to double down on the things of quality which it has, to ensure the creation of winners and that its winners continue to outperform the competition.
The UK success stories are largely built on excellence and quality. To ensure long-term success requires long-term thinking and investment. The UK should celebrate and nurture its successes, and build on them, be prepared to act boldly and quickly, embracing change and constantly renewing in accordance with a long-term strategy. Promoting winners needs to drown out the prophets of doom, whose stock word “broken” usually tells a grossly exaggerated untruth. Self-belief and confidence, with hard work and commitment, make individuals winners, and will make nations winners too.
