The Bank of England has announced that four types of animals have been selected to be printed on bank notes to replace famous historical figures. The winning animal species were chosen after enlisting help from the public.
The Atlantic puffin, the barn owl, the buff-tailed bumblebee and the European hedgehog are the final selections for future British banknotes, according to GB News.
Critics say that removing Churchill risks downplaying the country’s history. The conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that the plan is “erasing our history,” and Robert Jenrick, the UK’s Treasury spokesman called the plan “a joke,” according to the International Business Times.
Matt Vickers, MP for the Stockton West district and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, called the move “outrageous.”
The new animal-themed banknotes will also display a portrait of the current British monarch, currently King Charles III, who has reigned since 2022.
"The attempted eradication of our nation’s heroes is no accident," Winston Marshall said.
Depictions of historical figures have been printed on banknotes since 1970. Currently, the series of banknotes that have been in circulation since 2016 consists of Sir Winston Churchill, Britain’s famous wartime Prime Minister, Jane Austen, a famous British author, JMW Turner, an English painter and Alan Turing, an English mathematician and scientist who broke the Enigma code.
The public was asked to select their favorites from a list of 18 animals. More than 2.5 million selections were made, with close to 0.5 million people participating in the consultation. The selection process was based, not only on which animal had the highest votes in each category, but also symbolize a range of different environments across the United Kingdom.
The entire design will include not only the selected animal but natural elements.
The Bank of England’s chief cashier, Victoria Cleland, said, “I am delighted that nearly half a million people responded to our wildlife imagery consultation, showing that cash still matters.” This change comes at a time when there are more and more options to physical cash, such as mobile wallets and contactless payments.
The process for the redesigned notes can take several years, and the exact designs have not yet been developed, nor has there been a determination as to which animal will be on which denomination.
