Rejected petition Stop the Bank of England removing British historical figures from our bank notes

It has been announced that the Bank of England will remove depictions of the greatest British men and women from bank notes, in favour of pictures of wild animals. This is part of a continued effort to sanitise British history and culture.

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There can be no higher honour for service to the United Kingdom than to be depicted on bank notes. An honour currently held by our greatest sons and daughters, like Churchill and Austen. Removing this honour, seemingly to avoid the potential to offend a tiny theoretical minority, would be nothing less than shameful. If we cannot take pride in Churchill, what can British people take pride in?

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.

Bank notes are the responsibility of the Bank of England, which is independent of the Government and Parliament.

You can find out how the Bank decides who will be on bank notes here:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/banknote-characters

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 11 March 2026
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