don't you think the little start up communities in london and berlin are starting to celebrate failure lately as more successful entrepreneurs keep coming out of there, and slowly moving in the direction of silicon valley?
also of course doctors/lawyers are more respected off the bat, those professions have always been symbols of social stability.
Yeah it's helping, but the media's take on it is also hurting. As is dragon's den, films like The Social Network, etc. They give people this warped vision of what entrepreneurship really is. Around Silicon Roundabout you can feel things are different, but I think it's still a long way to go until it's comparable in any meaningful way to SV.
We still don't have a Facebook, Twitter, Google etc that's come out of London. As a city as a whole it's extremely finance focused. Raising money (as of ~2-3 years ago) is still hard work too for start-ups -- investors are by in large far more revenue focused and valuations are multiple folds lower than in the states.
We take less risks, so don't have the huge successes, and that's reflected throughout our culture as a whole. Check-out how many self-made British people are on this list: Sunday Times Rich List 2012 - UK's Richest People - TheRichest