AS the chancellor searches for ways to stimulate growth, here’s a reminder to her – on the International Day of Multilingualism – that she’s sitting on a huge pot of gold. In 2014, the all-party parliamentary group on modern languages estimated that the UK’s untapped linguistic potential was worth£48bn. It’s £8bn more than Reeves added to the tax bill last year, and if anything it has grown, since Brexit has re-oriented “global Britain” towards customers beyond Europe. Ask any native English speaker who trades internationally: if you’re buying, English will do, but if you’re selling, better to speak the client’s tongue…
This article first appeared in The Guardian on 27 March 2025. To continue reading, click here.