A new reality television programme from South Africa, centred on polygamous family life, has ignited a diplomatic headache for Whitehall. The show, which follows a husband with multiple wives, is being broadcast across international markets including the United Kingdom. It has prompted soul searching about cultural sensitivity versus institutional values. For the Treasury-adjacent observer, the deeper issue is not the marital arrangements of strangers but the cost of pandering to identity politics when the fiscal cupboard is bare.
Gilt yields have been twitchy enough without the Foreign Office wading into matrimonial anthropology. The show, titled ‘Loving in Numbers,’ is produced by a Johannesburg studio and distributed by a global streaming giant. It has already attracted criticism from conservative quarters and feminist groups alike. But the real storm is brewing in diplomatic circles where officials are reportedly debating whether to condemn, condone, or conspicuously ignore the programme.
Let us be clear. The UK government has no business regulating what consenting adults do with their private lives in a foreign jurisdiction. But when a cultural product is exported to British screens, it inevitably becomes part of the domestic conversation. The Treasury will be watching the cost-benefit analysis. Engaging in a public row risks alienating a key Commonwealth ally at a time when trade diversification from the EU is paramount. Conversely, silence could be construed as endorsement, inviting a backlash from conservative voters already unsettled by rapid social change.
This is not a moral panic; it is a market inefficiency. The government’s diplomatic resources are finite. Every hour spent drafting carefully worded communiques on polygamy is an hour not spent on post-Brexit trade agreements or attracting foreign direct investment. The capital flight from London to other financial centres is not driven by our views on marriage, but by our tax regime and regulatory stability. However, the narrative of cultural decline can affect confidence, spooking the bond vigilantes who demand predictable policies.
The Chancellor will be acutely aware that the last thing the economy needs is a divisive cultural war. Inflation is still above target, the Bank of England is treading carefully on rate cuts, and household budgets are stretched. Squandering political capital on a television show is profligacy of the worst kind. The prudent approach is a studied indifference: accept that different cultures have different norms, reaffirm British values through actions not words, and move on to matters that actually move the market.
Yet the media cycle demands a response. The opposition will demand clarity. The Daily Mail will editorialise. The liberal intelligentsia will decry censorship. This is the Westminster theatre of the absurd, and it has real economic consequences. Uncertainty breeds volatility. The Foreign Office must navigate this with the precision of a central banker, avoiding any statement that could be misinterpreted as either too permissive or too prescriptive.
In the end, the market will decide. If the show draws viewers, the streaming service will keep it. If it offends, advertisers will flee. The government should stay out of the ratings war. The UK’s cultural diplomacy should be about promoting our own creative industries and educational exchanges, not adjudicating on the marital customs of allies. That is a matter for families, not the Foreign Secretary.
The bottom line is clear: the UK cannot afford to be distracted. The deficit is stubborn, infrastructure is creaking, and productivity growth is anaemic. Every ounce of political energy should be directed towards fiscal discipline and economic resilience. Let the polygamy show run its course. If the markets yawn, the Treasury should too.
