USPs: What Is The UK Good At?
The Bottom Line
BBC
4.6 • 615 Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2026
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Every country likes to think it’s world-class at something. The Italians claim style, the Germans have their engineering and the Americans have Silicon Valley - and swagger. So, what about us? What’s Britain’s superpower? It’s a serious question. If we know what the UK is good at, we can play to our strengths and build an economy that pays for the things we all rely on – like hospitals, homes and schools. Evan Davis and guests discuss what Britain does well across culture, innovation and capital. And asks what works, what doesn’t and why it matters.
Guests: Ric Lewis, founding partner of Tristan Capital Partners Kate Bingham, managing partner at SV Health Investors Shona McCarthy, former CEO, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
Production team: Presenter: Evan Davis Producers: Sally Abrahams and Neal Razzell Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Sound: Jonathan Greer and James Beard Editor: Matt Willis
The Bottom Line is produced in partnership with The Open University.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | Hello, you're about to listen to a BBC podcast, and I'm Ed Gamble, host of another BBC podcast, The Traitors Uncloaked. |
| 0:12.7 | But my show is available only on BBC Sounds, just like Ellis and John's Saturday bonus episodes, |
| 0:18.2 | The Pop Top Ten podcast with Scott Mills and Rylan, and comedy specials |
| 0:22.2 | from the likes of Harriet Kemsley, Susie Ruffle and Rommashranga Nathan. However, and maybe I'm |
| 0:27.3 | biased, it's really all about the traitors uncoaked. So for a whole bunch of exclusive scoops |
| 0:32.3 | and podcasts, listen only on BBC Sounds. Thanks for downloading this episode of the bottom line podcast. |
| 0:38.7 | With extra content in it, we couldn't squeeze into the version broadcast on BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:45.3 | And this is our first podcast of 2026. |
| 0:48.2 | And we thought we should start the year with a very meat and potatoes question. |
| 0:52.4 | A question to which I think we all crave an answer. |
| 0:55.5 | What are we good at? |
| 0:57.1 | I'm talking the UK here, |
| 0:59.5 | where there's a strong prevailing mood of resignation, |
| 1:02.4 | a sense that everything's broken. |
| 1:04.4 | Surely, though, we can think of things we flourish in. |
| 1:07.5 | Now, of course, every country likes to think it's world-class at something. |
| 1:10.7 | The Italians claim something. The Italians |
| 1:11.9 | claim style. The Germans have their engineering. The Americans have Silicon Valley and swagger. |
| 1:18.7 | What about little old us? Well, we could joke about tea, queuing, putting up with the drizzle. |
| 1:25.7 | But this is more than anything a business question, |
| 1:28.2 | knowing what to focus on, how to play to our strengths, and in doing so how to pay for the things |
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