I was chatting to someone recently who told me some amazing news that I had missed. Every year Brand Finance releases a table of the world’s top soft power countries and where they rank. This is called the Global Soft Power Index. The great news was that the UK took the second spot in 2022, rising from third in 2021 to overtake Germany (which is suffering from a huge host of problems from economic decline to attempted right wing coups).
To be honest I was not very surprised at this news. I know the UK is extremely well liked and respected throughout the world, and people are desperate to move and live here, including risking their lives crossing the English Channel on flimsy boats. They would not do that if the UK was not a great country to live in.
What I was surprised at was the fact that I had not read this in the mainstream media. Surely news like this should be all over the front pages, and celebrated to give the country and its people confidence and pride.
But unfortunately since Brexit the mainstream media in the UK have lost the plot. They are determined to show the UK as weak and struggling compared to the EU, as they know the EU is finished if the UK is seen as improving after it left. And saving the EU is their main goal (for whatever reasons only they know).
Ignoring this is just another example of this Brexit derangement syndrome. But for all the people who actually care about their country, this is great news and we should spread the word. It shows that the world does not care about Brexit anymore, unlike our traditional, mainstream media here (everyone just wants to move on). And it shows that the UK has serious strengths and respectability abroad. So as the media whips up more dodgy scare stories, and ignores all the good news, the rest of the world sees us for what we truly are. An admired and respected global power that gives to the world.
I just wish our media would get over Brexit (the vote was in 2016!) and start working to help and improve the country, not try to weaken it. Unfortunately I fear that is not something they are willing to do.
