The Office for Equality and Opportunity, which is part of the Cabinet Office, lobbied the Bank of England to feature LGBT+ and ethnic-minority figures on banknotes, citing a need for greater diversity – months before Churchill, Alan Turing and Jane Austen were axed as “elitist and divisive”. The intervention by Bridget Phillipson’s Office for Equality and Opportunity has prompted accusations that Labour conspired to remove Britain’s most celebrated historical figures from its currency. The Telegraph has the story:
The Cabinet Office campaigned for Britain’s LGBT+ and ethnic-minority communities to be given greater prominence on banknotes.
In a letter to the Bank of England’s chief cashier last summer, officials said the historical figures currently depicted gave a limited picture of British identity and called for a more diverse array of personalities.
It came after The Telegraph revealed that the Bank decided to cut historical figures including Winston Churchill, Alan Turing and Jane Austen from banknotes after research found they were “elitist and divisive”.
The Bank opted to replace them with wildlife images in March, ending a tradition of featuring notable people alongside the monarch that dates back more than half a century.
In the letter, which was submitted in response to the Bank’s public consultation, officials wrote: “Historical figures can powerfully anchor public memory but have historically reflected limited dimensions of British identity.
“Greater representation of women, disabled people, ethnic minority communities and LGBT+ individuals would send a strong signal of progress and recognition.”
The intervention by the Office for Equality and Opportunity, which is part of the Cabinet Office and led by Bridget Phillipson, the minister for women and equalities, has triggered fresh scrutiny of the Bank’s decision.Alex Burghart, the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “Labour tried to deny any involvement in the cancellation of Winston Churchill and other British heroes. But government officials have been caught red-handed conspiring with the Bank of England to remove them from our banknotes.
“Banknotes should feature the greatest Britons – the historic figures that unite our country. They shouldn’t be chosen on the basis of Labour’s equality laws.”
Worth reading in full.
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Brings a whole new meaning to “bent ten bob note”.
Aren’t they happy with Alan Turing then? Wasn’t he ‘diverse’ enough for them?
He merited inclusion for his achievements, so that is far too elitist.
I fear that you’re right. Likely enough it actually disqualifies him.
No, by todays leftward standards and interpreting everything historical through that lens, being gay’s nowhere near enough; nothing short of fully transitioning is enough.
People talk about if woke is dead or in decline, and countries are going to experience a great deal of variance when it comes to this theme. I think the UK has it particularly bad, but the thing is: I don’t think it can ever be eradicated, only diminished and kept in check ( depending on who’s in government ), because ‘woke’ isn’t a monolith or a single, particular thing which can just be scrapped. Rather, it’s a collection of ‘things’, or progressive values and ideologies, therefore, I doubt it will ever actually be ‘dead’. As long as there are victim groups being platformed ( and such ideas are instilled in young minds at school ) there will be social justice warriors being churned out and forming alliances all the time. There’s your continuous battle against the woke infestation at a societal level.
Here is an essay exploring this topic further;
”The downfall of wokeness was indeed brought about, in significant part, by the excesses of the Critical Social Justice movement itself. At the same time, opposition to wokeness emerged from across the political spectrum. These two facts are not contradictory. Rather, they are connected. The irrationalism, authoritarianism, and purity… Read more »
Words fail me.
I assume we’re paying all these people. Yes of course we are. And they’re probably nowhere near the worst.
“Alex Burghart, the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster”
He can shut his trap for a start. The office was established by Gordon Brown, the Tories had forever to abolish it.
Badenough was Equalities Minister for a while …. she could have scrapped the nonsense, but didn’t.
Indeed
Theresa May too