I'm delighted to announce that the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has agreed to answer your questions on the new designs for our banknotes. Thanks to everyone who submitted a question yesterday via the usual portal.
Governor: Thank you for inviting me. As you may know we've just produced a shortlist of the animals that could become the central image on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes and are inviting the public to have their say.
Angry Nige: Why are you replacing Winston Churchill with a beaver?
Governor: We have no intention of replacing Winston Churchill with a beaver. A beaver isn't even on the shortlist.
Angry Nige: Why are you replacing Winston Churchill with some other poncy animal then? No pine marten or hedgehog ever stepped up and defeated the Germans. Why not a Chieftain tank?
Governor: We launched a consultation in July 2025 for a new banknote theme and a majority of the public chose wildlife. Destructive weaponry was not one of the six options.
Angry Nige: Why are you even bothering to print banknotes anyway? Nobody uses cash any more. Get with the program Grandad.
Governor: The Bank is committed to providing cash for those who wish to use it. Indeed there are currently 2.93 billion £20 notes in circulation which is the highest total ever.
Angry Nige: Removing Winston Churchill is outrageous though. The Great British public will never forgive this treachery.
Governor: All the famous people on banknotes get removed eventually. That's because banknotes are updated periodically to incorporate the newest security and accessibility features.
Angry Nige: But Sir Winston's been on our banknotes since the 1940s. Removing him would be treasonous.
Governor: Sir Winston's only been on the £5 note since September 2016, barely ten years. Perhaps it would help if I showed you some actual facts about famous people on banknotes.
series
£1
£5
£10
£20
£50
D
Newton 1978
Wellington 1971
Nightingale 1975
Shakespeare 1970
Wren 1981
E
Stephenson 1990
Dickens 1992
Faraday 1991
Houblon 1994
E
Fry 2002
Darwin 2000
Elgar 1999
F
Smith 2007
Boulton/Watt 2011
G
Churchill 2016
Austen 2017
Turner 2020
Turing 2021
H
?
?
?
?
Angry Nige: Nah I'm not interested in facts. When you're permanently furious you can't be bothered with facts, they go against all your prejudices.
Governor: As you can see there have been four different banknote series since decimalisation. Everyone gets retired after a decade or two. Even William Shakespeare only lasted 21 years as the face of the £20 note.
Angry Nige: What a depressing collection of lefty liberal figureheads. Shakespeare wrote roles for men in dresses, Darwin went against God's word, Austen was an unmarried woman and Turing was a convicted criminal. I can see why it might be less controversial to use animals instead.
Governor: Animals are vital to our landscapes, ecosystems and everyday lives. They have long inspired iconic works of art, music and literature, and we are excited to showcase them on our next series of banknotes.
Angry Nige: Jeez, they don't talk like that on GB News. Anyway, common sense says the four animals have to be the Pitbull, the Doberman, the Rottweiler and the German Shepherd.
Governor: For the wildlife theme the Bank has chosen to focus only on animals native to the UK. Household pets will not be included.
Angry Nige: Sheesh, how woke is this vote? Right then - rat, pigeon, bull and wasp.
Governor: Sorry, a team of experts has produced a shortlist from which the chosen four will be selected. You have to pick from that, we are not seeking any alternative nominations.
Angry Nige: I think the people of this country have had enough of experts.
Governor: Nevertheless there are three shortlists - Mammals, Birds and Amphibians, insects & fish. You get to choose two from each category.
Angry Nige: Nobody wants a basking shark on a banknote. Also what's wrong with a working class dragonfly, why does it have to be an emperor? Also we voted for Brexit precisely to keep migrants like the European hedgehog out of this country - you can't reverse the will of the people.
Governor: You have until 11.59pm on 3rd July to vote for your preferred six. An online form has been provided.
Angry Nige: Typical politicians excluding anyone without a computer or smartphone, also anyone who refuses to reveal their private details to the British establishment.
Governor: You can also send an email to enquiries@bankofengland.co.uk, write to Banknote Imagery Consultation, Notes Directorate, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH or phone 020 3461 4878 any weekday between 10am and noon.
Angry Nige: And then presumably you'll ignore all the voting and just pick the animals yourself?
Governor: Correct. I will of course take the public vote into consideration but I have the final choice. It is important that there are four distinct animals across all four denominations and that they represent different environments from across the UK.
Angry Nige: Total fix.
Governor: Well that's OK. As I recall you don't use cash so it won't affect you.
Angry Nige: How long until this travesty of a decision is offensively foisted on the public?
Governor: The Bank will announce the outcome of this consultation by the end of 2026. But it'll be a number of years before the next series is launched. It's a detailed, multi-year process to design, test and print the notes, ensuring they are high-quality, resilient, accessible and incorporate the latest anti-counterfeiting technology.
Angry Nige: Well by then a Reform government will have scrapped cash and introduced a new English cryptocurrency, so the entire process is sure to be a complete waste of time.
dg: I invite my readers to predict what the final four animals will be. Not the results of the public vote but the Bank's chosen foursome. Not the four you want but the four you think we'll get. Please make your selection and write just four words in this special comments box. comments
