Civil servants at the U.K.'s Office for Equality and Opportunity have called for greater representation of minority groups on banknotes, arguing that historical figures like Winston Churchill offer a limited perspective on British identity. The comments were made in a letter to the Bank of England last summer, submitted as part of a public consultation on updating the country's currency.
The officials proposed that banknotes should feature women, disabled people, ethnic minority communities, and LGBT+ individuals to signify progress and recognition. This suggestion comes as the Bank of England is shifting from featuring historical figures to using images of wildlife on its banknotes, a decision that has drawn criticism for allegedly erasing British history.
In response to the consultation, the Bank of England stated that the theme of nature received the highest proportion of nominations in the public consultation, with 60 percent of respondents favoring it. Architecture and landmarks were a close second at 56 percent, followed by notable historical figures at 38 percent.
Senior Conservative MP Alex Burghart criticized the move, suggesting that the Labour party was involved in a plan to remove British heroes from banknotes. A government spokesperson clarified that decisions on banknote design are made by the independent Bank of England and not by ministers. The spokesperson added that officials engage with consultations as part of normal due process, as they did under the previous government.
The Bank of England confirmed that the public consultation influenced the decision to select nature as the theme for the next series of banknotes. The planned changes also aim to enhance security features and make notes more difficult to counterfeit. It is expected that the newly designed banknotes, which will continue to feature a portrait of the monarch, will be issued in several years. Winston Churchill currently appears on the £5 note.