The Bank of England is nominating 18 animals, birds and insects to appear on future 5, 10, 20 and 50 pound notes, with the British public getting their say.
Source: BBC
For the next series of banknotes, the Bank of England wants to replace historical figures such as Winston Churchill and Jane Austen with animals. The British central bank, in collaboration with a group of wildlife experts, put together a shortlist. The British now have a month to give their opinion on which animal species should be on the banknotes.
The shortlist
The shortlist consists of 18 species, including mammals, birds, fish, insects and amphibians. Brits can vote for up to two favorites from each of the three categories before the July 3 deadline:
1. Mammals: the bottlenose dolphin, the brown hare, the European hedgehog, the gray seal, the pine marten and the red fox.
2. Birds: the Atlantic puffin, the barn owl, the kingfisher, the curlew, the great spotted woodpecker and the white-tailed eagle.
3. Amphibians, insects and fish: the Atlantic salmon, the basking shark, the yellow-tailed bumblebee, the common frog, the imperial dragonfly and the fritillary butterfly.
“The nominated animals showcase the rich diversity of wildlife we have across the UK,” said Victoria Cleland, Chief Cashier at the Bank of England. “I hope that the public will enjoy helping to choose which animals will appear on the next series of banknotes.”
However, the final decision will be made by Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England. He doesn’t even necessarily have to choose the animals that receive the most reactions from the audience.
“A stupid move”
For the first time since 1970, the banknotes will no longer feature famous historical figures. The disappearance of Winston Churchill in particular caused a stir among politicians earlier this year. “They are proposing to replace people like him with an image of a beaver,” said Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, also reacted negatively to the change. “I can’t think of a worse time to do this, right when a war is raging in Europe.” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch simply called it “a stupid move”.
According to the bank, the measure is necessary to combat counterfeiting, which means that all images on banknotes must be replaced over time. However, the design, testing and printing of the new banknotes will take several years, so they will not immediately appear in circulation.