Churchill may be dropped from banknotes for diverse designs
Banknotes have featured notable historical figures since 1970, when William Shakespeare became the first person other than the monarch to be depicted.
The Bank said it wished to 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' over a month-long consultation.
Winston Churchill on the £5 note
Although notable historical figures remain an option, the Bank is expanding possible subjects to architecture and landmarks, arts, culture and sport, noteworthy events in history, technological innovations and nature. People who are alive, other than the monarch, will be excluded.
Victoria Cleland, the Bank of England's chief cashier, said that gender, ethnicity and disability could be taken into account when planning the designs.
She said: 'Banknotes are more than just an important means of payment — they serve as a symbolic representation of our collective national identity and an opportunity to celebrate the UK. I am really keen to hear what themes the public would like to see represented on the next series of notes.'
A £10 note featuring Jane Austen
CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/REUTERS
The public will be able to suggest their own ideas for themes or for people who should be included but the final decision will be made by the governor of the Bank, Andrew Bailey, to avoid the embarrassment of a 'Notey McNoteface'.
The consultation raises the potential for Stonehenge, oak trees, fish and chips or football to appear on notes. Cash in Scotland and Northern Ireland already carries images of landmarks and nature, such as otters.
JMW Turner on the £20 note
ALAMY
A mock-up series of designs published alongside the consultation launch feature images of the Angel of the North, wind farms and the DNA double helix.
Although the use of cash has declined over the past decade, cash is still the preferred payment method for about one in five people and used by many more. The Bank said it was committed to providing cash for those who wished to use it.
People can submit their views through an online form on the Bank's website, or by post, by the end of July.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
a minute ago
- BBC News
Retro gaming arcade in Salisbury saved from immediate closure
The owner of an independent retro gaming arcade which was on the brink of permanent closure said he had been "blown away" after more than £3,000 was raised to save Score Arcade in Salisbury, Wiltshire, closed in June due to running costs and low footfall. However following a "make or break weekend", which involved two open days, its immediate future has been owner James Petherick said: "Locals, businesses, and supporters around the world have come together to keep something special alive for Salisbury." Opened in the Cross Keys Shopping Centre in August 2024, the arcade features a carefully-restored collection of classic pinball and retro gaming to the open days, which took place on Saturday and Sunday, cost a minimum of £1, with other donations made via an online arcade said it would now work to update its booking system, reopening with updated times on its website and social media arcade said it was "excited to welcome the community back through its doors".
Sky News
a minute ago
- Sky News
'Broken' water industry set to be overhauled - nine key recommendations from landmark report
The system for regulating water companies in England and Wales should be overhauled and replaced with one single body, a major review of the sector has advised. It has recommended abolishing regulator Ofwat as well as the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), which ensures that public water supplies are safe. The report, which includes 88 recommendations, suggests a new single integrated regulator to replace existing water watchdogs, mandatory water metering, and a social tariff for vulnerable customers. The ability to block companies being taken over and the creation of eight new regional water authorities with another for all of Wales to deliver local priorities, has also been suggested. The review, the largest into the water industry since privatisation in the 1980s, was undertaken by Sir Jon Cunliffe, a career civil servant who oversaw the biggest clean-up of Britain's banking system in the wake of the financial crash. He was coaxed out of retirement by Environment Secretary Steve Reed to lead the Independent Water Commission. • Single integrated water regulators - a single water regulator in England and a single water regulator in Wales. In England, this would replace Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and water-environment related functions from the Environment Agency and Natural England • Eight new regional water system planning authorities in England and one national authority in Wales • Greater consumer protection - this includes upgrading the consumer body Consumer Council for Water into an Ombudsman for Water to give stronger protection to customers and a clearer route to resolving complaints • Stronger environmental regulation, including compulsory water meters • Tighter oversight of water company ownership and governance, including new powers for the regulator to block changes in water company ownership • Public health reforms - this aims to better manage public health risks in water, recognising the many people who swim, surf and enjoy other water-based activities • Fundamental reset of economic regulation - including changes to ensure companies are investing in and maintaining assets • Clear strategic direction - a new long-term National Water Strategy should be published by both the UK and Welsh governments with a "minimum horizon of 25 years" • Infrastructure and asset health reforms - including new requirements for companies to map and assess their assets and new resilience standards In a speech responding to Sir Jon's report, Mr Reed is set to describe the water industry as "broken" and welcome the commission's recommendations to ensure "the failures of the past can never happen again". Final recommendations of the commission have been published on Monday morning to clean up the sector and improve public confidence. Major other suggested steps for the government include greater consumer protection by upgrading the Consumer Council for Water into an ombudsman with advocacy duties being transferred to Citizens Advice. Stronger and updated regulations have been proposed by Sir Jon, including compulsory water metering, changes to wholesale tariffs for industrial users and greater water reuse and rainwater harvesting schemes. A social tariff is also recommended. Oversight of companies via the ability to block changes in ownership of water businesses and the addition of "public benefit" clauses in water company licences. To boost company financial resilience, as the UK's biggest provider Thames Water struggles to remain in private ownership, the commission has recommended minimum financial requirements, like banks are subject to. It's hoped this will, in turn, make companies more appealing to potential investors. The public health element of water has been recognised, and senior public health representation has been recommended for regional water planning authorities, as have new laws to address pollutants like forever chemicals and microplastics. A "supervisory" approach has been recommended to intervene before things like pollution occur, rather than penalising the businesses after the event. A long-term, 25-year national water strategy should be published by the UK and Welsh governments, with ministerial priorities given to water firms every five years. Companies should also be required to map and assess their assets and resilience Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
Telegraph
a minute ago
- Telegraph
Bosses warn workers: use AI or face the sack
When ChatGPT first burst into the public consciousness, techies and geeks were eager to experiment with the latest cool product. Before long, some of them were using it to automate their work or respond to emails in the office. The reaction from executives was a brutal crackdown. Dozens of companies banned or restricted access to ChatGPT, warning staff about data leaks and plagiarism. Now, bosses cannot get enough of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. With pressure from investors to boost productivity and cut costs, executives are increasingly demanding their underlings brush up on using AI tools, whether they like it or not. While some workers have eagerly taken to the new technology, others are hesitant. In a survey of chief executives by technology giant Kyndryl, 45pc reported their staff were either 'resistant or openly hostile' towards AI. Having already coaxed true believers into trying out AI tools, executives at some of the world's biggest companies are now turning to more aggressive tactics to boost uptake. Last month, Julia Liuson, president of Microsoft's developer division, warned staff that 'using AI is no longer optional'. Liuson said in an internal email that AI use should be factored into 'reflections on an individual's performance and impact'. Just days later, Microsoft said it would cut 9,000 workers. Separately, Tobias Lütke, chief executive of $150bn (£112bn) e-commerce business Shopify, told staff in April the business would 'add AI usage questions to our performance and peer review questionnaire'. Lütke added that 'before asking for more headcount and resources', staff should consider how they could use AI to be more productive. Duolingo, the translation app, has similarly linked AI use to performance reviews. The implication for workers is clear: use AI, or risk losing your job. 'Innovate or die' Micha Kaufman, the chief executive of freelancing app Fiverr, was blunt in a note to its 700 staff. He urged staff to 'wake up' and warned those who did not adapt to the 'new reality, fast, are, unfortunately, doomed'. However, pressure for staff to use AI to improve productivity is not just limited to technology. In an interview with Bloomberg in May, Nicolai Tangen, chief executive of Norway's sovereign wealth fund, said: 'It isn't voluntary to use AI or not. If you don't use it, you will never be promoted. You won't get a job.' One City source says there has been a 'huge push' in their workplace to use AI tools and that 'clients love it'. A private equity executive says: 'Our deal team uses some kind of AI tool every single day.' According to AI evangelists, it is 'innovate or die'. Harry Stebbings, founder of technology investor 20VC, says: 'All leaders must be encouraging people to actively look for ways that they can insert AI and make themselves more efficient.' At 20VC, for instance, Stebbings says his team sits down every Friday afternoon to spend an hour experimenting with AI tools and chatbots, before presenting new ideas for using them to the team. Investors, meanwhile, are clamouring for businesses to embed AI in everything they do, hoping to match some of the trillions of dollars in share-price gains that some of the world's biggest tech giants have enjoyed since the launch of ChatGPT. AI use among workers has been rising. A study from Slack, the workplace messaging tool, found that 60pc of US office workers were now using AI tools, up 50pc on six months ago. But many workers are understandably uneasy. For one, AI leaders have been proclaiming the tools will soon replace swathes of white-collar jobs. Dario Amodei, chief executive of AI lab Anthropic, told Axios that AI could wipe out half of white collar jobs and increase unemployment by 10 to 20pc within five years. Andy Jassy, the Amazon chief executive, has likewise warned staff that AI will allow it to 'reduce our total corporate workforce'. A widely-cited report from Goldman Sachs warned 300m jobs could be lost to AI. Workers plainly have little to gain by handing over tasks to tools that their bosses believe could replace them before long. Cause for scepticism LJ Justice, an analyst at Gartner, says there remains a 'clear gap between executive enthusiasm and employee enablement'. Gartner argues this is down to most staff being expected to take up the tools with little guidance. It found 82pc of staff had received no instruction on how best to use the tools. Meanwhile, Lewis Keating, of Deloitte, says that just half of workers trust businesses to use AI tools responsibly, holding back uptake. 'The biggest hurdle to AI adoption right now isn't the technology, it's trust,' he says. Some tech workers are cynical about the motives of their leaders. On Blind, a forum frequented by tech employees, one worker says: 'Most big tech companies are mandating their employees use AI … it allows them to pump up the numbers of their product. 'What it tells you is, we aren't going to make our numbers and if you aren't helping to boost those numbers, we will replace you.' Across social media, tech workers and programmers have bemoaned being ordered to using AI tools that are not always completely accurate. AI models suffer from an issue known as 'hallucination', meaning they are prone to making up facts. Some have claimed the pressure is making them consider quitting the industry. AI labs including OpenAI, Anthropic and the tech giant Microsoft have all launched AI tools designed to speed up coding that have been championed by AI fans. But Anton Zaides, a software developer and author of the newsletter, writes: 'Stop forcing AI tools on your engineers.' He writes it is 'nuts' that managers are grading workers on 'how the 'best' employees are eating through the tools budget'. He adds that companies that mandate AI use should not be 'surprised if you end up with a slower pace and a complete mess in a year'. Some executives argue attitudes are changing and there is no need to force tools on staff. Barney Hussey-Yeo, founder of UK fintech start-up Cleo, says: 'What was once met with strong resistance - using AI for coding - is now standard at Cleo. We've covered tool costs for our team but avoided mandating adoption; it's grown organically.' But developers with first-hand experience of AI tools may have reasons to be sceptical about the hype from the C-suite. A study from the Upwork Research Institute found that while 96pc of senior leaders believed AI was leading to productivity gains at their companies, 77pc of workers reported they felt it was slowing them down. Perhaps most striking is a controlled study from METR, an AI research lab. It found that while computer programmers believed they were 20pc faster when using AI tools, they were actually working 19pc slower. But AI doubters may wish to keep quiet – their careers could be at stake. As Kaufman, the Fiverr chief executive, warned staff: 'If you think I'm full of sh-- … be my guest and disregard this message. But I honestly don't think that a promising professional future awaits you.'
