Labour’s ‘Soft Power Council’ Has Only Ever Had Four Meetings & Lisa Nandy Skipped Half of Them
The Soft Power Council, launched in January 2025, has faced significant disinterest from government ministers, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy missing half of its four meetings. Despite the council's formation to advise on culture and foreign affairs, it has struggled to gain traction and has been criticized for its lack of diversity in membership. Internal communications reveal a chaotic start and ongoing challenges in securing ministerial engagement and adequate funding.
- ▪The Soft Power Council has only held four meetings since its launch.
- ▪Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy sent apologies for two of the meetings.
- ▪Internal emails indicate concerns about diversity in the council's membership.
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Since the FCDO and DCMS jointly launched the “Soft Power Council” in January 2025 to advise the government on culture and foreign affairs, it has received almost zero interest from ministers. Guido can reveal that out of four meetings, the Culture Secretary sent apologies to two: SPC 2 on 29 April 2025 and SPC 4 on 9 October 2025. The FT also reports that Yvette Cooper is not showing any enthusiasm… DCMS is contributing five civil servants to support the council whose seniorities range from SCS2 down to HEO, with a G7 and HEO sitting in the “Joint Soft Power Hub.” Meanwhile the ministers don’t bother to show up… Emails uncovered by Guido’s FOI Unit show a comically fraught process to kick off the council.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Guido Fawkes.
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