UK Edition
Choose an ethnic minority figure as new face of Britain’s £50 note, Treasury urges Bank of England
The Treasury has urged the Bank of England not to choose a white scientist for its new £50 note as MPs warn it risks sending a “damaging message that ethnic minorities are invisible”.
Robert Jenrick, the Exchequer Secretary, has spoken in support of the Banknotes of Colour campaign, which calls for ethnic minority representation on the new £50 note.
"The new £50 note should symbolise our values as a country,” he told The Telegraph.
This month Helen Grant, the Tory MP, wrote to Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, urging him to support the campaign, which has been spearheaded by Zehra Zaidi and Dr Patrick Vernon.
Ms Grant, who is a vice-chair of the Conservative party, called on Mr Carney to “urgently review and take action on the lack of representation of ethnic minorities on British banknotes.”
She said in her letter: “The Bank has a duty to ensure that wider diversity is represented on our currency. As you will know, there have only been four women in history on banknotes (including The Queen) and no ethnic minorities.
“As a public institution, the Bank also has a responsibility to promote and, indeed, advance equality of opportunity.”
She added: “Undoubtedly, the absence of ethnic minorities from UK banknotes also sends a damaging message that ethnic minorities are invisible and have done nothing at all of significance in our history.”
In November the Bank of England published its long list of scientists to feature on its new plastic £50 note. It received more than 220,000 nominations before choosing nearly 1,000 names, which included Margaret Thatcher, who worked as a chemist before entering politics.
The Bank will draw up a shortlist before the final choice is made by Mr Carney. It will be announced this summer.
Ms Grant said the Bank’s insistence the new banknote should feature a scientist is “problematic” as it limits its choice.
The campaigners want the Bank to choose a scientist from an ethnic minority, such as Sir Charles Kuen Kao, who pioneered the development and use of fibre optics, and Mary Seacole, a nurse during the Crimean War.
Ms Zaidi said: “We want to see fine intentions on diversity and inclusion translate into the most visible form of representation the Bank of England can offer: a banknote that each of us can hold.
“There are only a handful of ethnic minority scientists among the Bank of England’s list of 989 eligible scientists. We would like to see the Bank of England’s final shortlist to be representative in line with the British population”.
Mr Jenrick said: “The Banknotes of Colour Campaign make an important point.
“Bank notes are symbols of identity and project our country and values to the world, so they should reflect all of our people, our history and our future as a great open and diverse nation".
The Treasury minister pointed out that evidence showed British Asian communities use £50 notes more than others, and that the banknotes are also used as a store of value over the world.
Mr Jenrick, who has three daughters, also spoke of the importance of choosing a woman to be the face of the new £50 as a “role model” for girls.
“As a parent it has been striking to me just how poor we still are as a society at putting forward great female role models,” he said. “Every night I read my children stories which seem to be about princesses. It is not easy to find books where the heroine is Emmeline Pankhurst or Ada Lovelace.”
A government source said: “The UK is defined by its rich cultural history made by people from all backgrounds and we appreciate initiatives like Helen Grant’s that demand these voices are heard and given the recognition they deserve.”
A Bank of England spokesman said: “The Bank takes its commitment to diversity very seriously, and diversity issues are actively considered at every stage of the character selection process for our banknotes.
“For the £50 note, as for the £20 note, we held a public nomination process for eligible characters. The field of science was chosen by an advisory committee with a diverse and independent membership.”