UNESCO: 80th Anniversary

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the 80th anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing time for this debate. It is a great joy to see so many colleagues from across the House here with us today.

I want to begin by touching on UNESCO’s founding vision and the achievements that followed, which show why it is uniquely placed to help drive the national renewal the Labour Government rightly seek and to restore Britain’s leadership role on the world stage. Sunday marked 80 years since UNESCO was founded here in London. Considering the age of some UNESCO sites and the artefacts it seeks to be a custodian of, those 80 years are a mere speck in time, yet, emerging as it did out of the ashes of the darkest and most destructive chapter of human history—world war two—it is nothing short of remarkable that UNESCO’s mission has endured for those 80 years.

Rab Butler and Ellen Wilkinson, for whom I know the Minister has a great deal of admiration, were Tory and Labour Ministers respectively, and they played a crucial role in UNESCO’s establishment. They worked alongside Governments in exile from across the globe. All had witnessed the bombing of medieval cathedrals, such as in Coventry, the burning of national libraries, such as in Serbia, and the destruction of ancient temples in Asia, and much worse atrocities still in the domain of fascist policies dressed up as education and science—education that was mobilised to teach hatred, and science corrupted in the service of the most depraved and evil ends.

If culture, science and education had been abused in the service of hatred and conflict, they now had to be mobilised in the cause of peace. That is part of UNESCO’s founding principle—to build peace through international co-operation in science, education, communication and culture. In the words of Clement Attlee,

“since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed”.

Britain and its territories have been a proud supporter of UNESCO, although there was a 12-year separation between 1985 and 1997, when the UK left the organisation. Perhaps sometimes it takes a little bit of time apart to appreciate what you have.

My energy for UNESCO comes through the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO world heritage site, which runs through my Mid Derbyshire constituency. It is a great joy to see here some of the other MPs who have part of the site in their constituencies—my hon. Friends the Members for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) and for Derbyshire Dales (John Whitby).

Neighbouring Derbyshire, in Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent has a proud heritage of craftmanship thanks to our famous ceramics industry, including Duchess China and Wedgwood. We are recognised globally for pottery, shipping products all over the world. I would be delighted if Stoke-on-Trent were recognised as a UNESCO creative city. Would my hon. Friend join me in recognising the historical contribution of Stoke-on-Trent and the boost in tourism that our bid to make Stoke-on-Trent a UNESCO creative city would bring?

I know the intangible heritage there is in Stoke-on-Trent and I encourage my hon. Friend to join the all-party parliamentary group on UNESCO world heritage sites, of which I am the chair, because that might be a vehicle to progress the bid. She is very welcome to speak to me about that.

The Derwent valley in my constituency is the home of the industrial revolution, where planners such as Jedediah Strutt and Richard Arkwright harnessed the power of the River Derwent and built the mills that set Britain on a path to economic growth and prosperity. Their groundbreaking approach was copied throughout the world.

At the heart of the Derwent valley are the Belper mills, which have tragically been allowed to fall into a poor state of repair. I am working to change that, but, for the time being, they remain a painful and unsightly reminder that the Government’s commitment to national renewal is sorely needed.

It was a delight to welcome my hon. Friend to Saltaire recently as part of the World Heritage UK conference, where he saw the regeneration of Salts Mill at the heart of our world heritage site and the amazing regeneration that it has brought to the whole village. Is that an example that he thinks his own world heritage site could learn from?

Salts Mill is the gold standard of conservation and heritage restoration and the David Hockney paintings that can be seen there are truly remarkable—I encourage all colleagues to go to Saltaire and visit Salts Mill. My hon. Friend does a great job promoting what that wonderful community has to offer. There is a high bar to reach with the repair of the Belper mills; I hope we can achieve a similar calibre to that of Salts Mill.

I was motivated to re-establish the all-party parliamentary group on UNESCO world heritage sites this summer by a desire to raise the profile of these vital places. My aspiration is to use the group to build the components of a national strategy that can share best practice across the UK and raise the profile of places such as the Belper mills and the Derwent Valley Mills world heritage site.

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. I have the slate landscape of north-west Wales world heritage site in my constituency, and I am glad to be a member of the APPG. With these large industrial sites, we need to discuss how to maintain the designation safely while also finding a working use for them. I think of a large hydroelectric scheme in my constituency, which would be an immense benefit to local people, but we need to balance that with what we want to maintain and make safe for future generations.

The right hon. Lady makes a good point. There are challenges associated with cultural landscapes and living sites, but there are many examples of where we can make that work. Having a national strategy would provide a shared view across Government Departments to best support the sites. I will say something later about the specific site she mentioned.

I was pleased to re-establish the APPG, which we can use to help build the components for a national strategy, share good practice for sites across the UK, and track and influence Government legislation, so that we can harness all the benefits those sites offer. Having a national strategy would also foster a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by the range of sites across the UK, allowing a joined-up approach to dealing with them. I would be grateful to hear the Minister’s thoughts on the merits of a national strategy for the UNESCO world heritage sites in the UK, and whether the Government might consider following the Republic of Ireland, which has adopted one with a degree of success.

I was pleased to see in the recently published curriculum review an aspiration for all young people to engage with local history as part of their education. UNESCO’s world heritage sites in the UK are a great asset to help deliver that. UNESCO is so much more than world heritage sites; it deals with the foundations of our knowledge of the world and each other. UNESCO’s designations, which include biosphere reserves, global geoparks, creative cities, learning cities and intangible cultural heritage, reflect that breadth. Every UNESCO designation is part of a global network spanning more than 190 countries. That network connects communities, scientists, cultural organisations and educators with their counterparts across the world. Despite that extraordinary breadth, UNESCO remains united by a single purpose: an ambitious, internationalist commitment to freedom, peace and equality, with education at its heart.

I was hoping that the hon. Gentleman would turn to the Giant’s Causeway UNESCO world heritage site. Does he agree that that is one of the nation’s tremendous tourism facilities, but we have to be very careful with it, because there have been attempts by developers in recent years to put offshore wind farms in immediate proximity to it? We must be extremely cautious about proceeding with developments of that nature in such close proximity to a national heritage site.

That is a challenge. A few sites, including the one in my constituency, have a buffer zone in which development must be tightly controlled. We need to get more energy from renewables, but there is a balance to be struck at valuable sites such as the Giant’s Causeway, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of people each year and shows how funding heritage can protect natural wonders while opening them up for all to enjoy.

Across every nation and region, in so many different ways, UNESCO sites are a locus for communities to celebrate their culture, understand their history and prepare for the future. Aside from the numerous benefits they provide, our UNESCO sites have the potential to help us tackle two key challenges.

First, too many people feel disconnected and alienated. That is expressed through frustration, but also a turn to extremes. UNESCO sites do not provide quick fixes and nor are they the sole solution, but by investing in what is unique, sustainable and culturally valuable in our towns, cities and landscapes we restore a sense of connection, allow a palpable sense of local identity to return, and give communities a real stake in their future. That must be recognised as part of the national renewal that the Government rightly seek. It goes beyond our pride in place programme and engages with what our places mean to us, as well as how they look.

The second challenge is our role on the world stage. I am delighted that we have a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Minister responding to the debate. Although trade deals have boosted UK business and our defence investment is helping build a more secure world, cuts to international aid have raised concerns about our global standing. UNESCO offers a powerful vehicle for leading on the international stage, fostering progress and promoting peace. Its work can prevent conflict from erupting, help adversaries to see one another’s humanity, and encourage reconciliation after war. That is not to mention the work needed to tackle climate change, which is an ever growing cause of conflict across the world. We are leading on climate change through robust action in the UK, but our collective efforts can succeed only if they are fully international. Domestic alienation and international conflict are two sides of the same coin; UNESCO’s mission helps us to address both.

Order. If colleagues can keep their speeches to five minutes, I will not need to impose a formal time limit at this stage.

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I want to say a big thank you to the hon. Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) for setting the scene incredibly well on a subject in which we should all be interested. It is wonderful to be here to celebrate UNESCO’s 80th anniversary—I am just 10 years behind it. It is the specialised agency dedicated to strengthening our shared humanity through the promotion of education, science, culture and communication. I and others believe that we must continue to protect UNESCO and advance education, so it is great to be here for that purpose.

I love history; indeed, it is probably the only subject I excelled at in school, or did well at in school—that may be a better way of putting it. I also love the idea of UNESCO’s 80th anniversary, and—without being morbid—I love going round graveyards, looking at the old headstones and getting a bit of the history of the area. I love going round churches as well, where we have the same experience, and going round UNESCO sites. Their designation can go back 80 years, but churches may go back 300 years or more, and graveyards go back to whenever people were first buried, which is the beginning of time.

For Northern Ireland, there are a few important UNESCO-related milestones to note, so I am pleased to be here to give the local perspective. The first relates to the Giant’s Causeway. It is said that that is where the giants walked and lived—I am sure it is quite true. It is one of Northern Ireland’s UNESCO heritage sites and was designated as such in 1986, meaning that its 40th anniversary will be celebrated next year. Hundreds of thousands of people visit each year; it is a much-loved attraction.

In July 2024, only very recently, Gracehill in County Antrim was added to the UNESCO world heritage list as part of the Moravian Church Settlements. Northern Ireland is famed for its religious settlements—for its religious beliefs—and it is only right that we should have something like that. If we look abroad through UNESCO’s website, there are 1,248 properties on the world heritage list, so that gives people an idea; it is quite selective. They are properties that the world heritage list considers as having outstanding universal value.

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) on securing the debate.

We will hear a lot today about UNESCO world heritage sites across the UK, from the Giant’s Causeway to Saltaire and the Palace of Westminster itself. Magnificent as those examples are, I stand here today with the honour of representing the only part of the country with double UNESCO world heritage status for both cultural heritage and the surrounding natural environment. St Kilda, or Hiort, the remote archipelago, some 40 miles west of my own archipelago into the Atlantic, are the most westernmost islands of the UK apart from Rockall—perhaps its most taciturn Atlantic outcrop. It is not easy to get there—it takes a stern four-hour crossing on a high-powered boat into an Atlantic swell—but the reward is magnificent.

And that is in summer.

Even in the summer.

The sea cliffs of St Kilda are among the highest in the UK. When you crane your neck up from the deck of what feels like a very small boat below those cliffs, it feels as if someone has dragged New York’s skyscrapers midway across the Atlantic. The sea stacks teem with bird life, giving an otherworldly atmosphere, and the power of that ocean, in summer and winter, below your feet—that relentless swell—makes you feel as if these islands are on the edge of the world. It is the surrounding ocean environment that gives it its UNESCO natural heritage status, but it is the human footprint—the two millennia of human inhabitation of the main island of Hirta, along with Boreray, Soay and Dùn, where people grazed sheep and hunted seabirds—that exert such a pull and give it its heritage status.

People lived there for two millennia, eking out a very tough life harvesting seabirds and breeding sheep, but modernity, contact with the outside world, depopulation, emigration and illness brought that chapter of human habitation to a close. The final 36 St Kildans requested assistance from the British Government and were evacuated on 29 August 1930, bringing that chapter of inhabitation to a sudden and sad end. Although the community dispersed and the voices faded, you still get an echo of the human habitation and the people when you go there. I last visited with the late Norman John Gillies, the last of the male St Kildans. He left when he was five years old, but he still had an umbilical link to the island. To stand with him outside his family home in Village Bay, and to hear him switch from his English Norwich accent into what that place evoked in him—his native Gaelic voice—was to walk across the bridge of time. It was quite a privilege.

The remarkable story of St Kilda has been told and retold, from Tom Steel’s “Life and Death” to Roger Hutchinson’s “A People’s History”. There are about 700 books on St Kilda. We know more about the St Kildans than we know about the kings of Scotland. That is why we go back time and again: because when we walk in their footsteps, we feel for ourselves what it was like to live in a pre-industrial, communal, remote and co-dependent community as our ancestors must all have done.