The Bank of England has been accused of ‘wrongheaded wokery’ after revealing it could drop historical figures from banknotes to reflect modern diversity.
It has launched a consultation seeking suggestions from the public that could mean the end of using images of significant characters – Sir Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, artist JMW Turner and code-breaker Alan Turing currently appear.
The Bank suggests that modern issues such as gender, ethnicity and disability could be taken into account when planning the designs, with chief cashier Victoria Cleland saying: ‘It may be that we can get that real diversity through a different theme than historic figures.’
But the plans to change the traditional appearance of banknotes – which started in 1970 with William Shakespeare – drew an immediate backlash.
Former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘The Bank of Wokeness wants to ignore our history and heroes to model itself on the unutterable banality of euro notes. It shows a lack of confidence in the nation and a supine kowtowing to the gods of political correctness.’
Kevin Hollinrake, a former business minister, said: ‘This is wrongheaded wokery. We should be proud of our history, not sideline it.
‘Replacing historical figures with abstract themes risks erasing the rich, complex story of how our country has evolved. Diversity is incredibly important, but we should achieve it by widening the range of historic figures we honour, not by abandoning them altogether.’
The month-long consultation, the Bank said, will give the public ‘the opportunity to express their views on what theme they would like us to feature on the next series of our banknotes’.
Historical figures such as Sir Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, and Alan Turing could be removed from banknotes
The Bank suggests that modern issues such as gender , ethnicity and disability could be taken into account when planning the designs
The month-long consultation, the Bank said, will give the public ‘the opportunity to express their views on what theme they would like us to feature on the next series of our banknotes’
Former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘The Bank of Wokeness wants to ignore our history’
Kevin Hollinrake, a former business minister said Brits shpould be should be ‘proud of our history’
The Bank has not said when the new set of notes will be issued, but it identified six ‘potential themes’, although people who are still alive – other than the monarch – would be excluded.
A mock-up series of designs published alongside the consultation launch feature images of the Angel of the North, windfarms and the DNA double helix.
The final decision will be for the governor, to rule out mischievous ideas such as ‘Boaty McBoatface’ which was chosen by the public as the name of a new UK polar research ship, which eventually became the Sir David Attenborough.
Ms Cleland said ideas for the designs needed to be ‘representative of the UK’ but also ‘not to be divisive’ or ‘upset people’.
Campaigners had complained of a lack of women on notes prior to Jane Austen’s addition in 2017.
