Chancellor Rishi Sunak praised the British beauty industry for being the best of British business and for providing an essential service throughout the pandemic as he opened British Beauty Week in London’s Covent Garden on Wednesday.
Speaking to an audience at the start of five-day event, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, said: “Thank you for everything you have done to keep going over the last year. The beauty industry is the best of British business: you are creative, entrepreneurial and innovative – no wonder you are worth £30 billion to the UK economy.
“If anyone ever doubted, the pandemic brought home that the services you all provide are essential services – something we recognised in government when we reopened beauty services much earlier than lots of other businesses. Because what you give people is something that is impossible to measure in all the spreadsheets that I see – confidence, self-esteem and a sense of well-being. That is no small feat and I applaud you for it.”
The Chancellor’s visit to British Beauty Week comes after three years of work by the British Beauty Council to engage politicians and business leaders about the value of British beauty to the national economy, and its key role in the UK’s creative and cultural character.