It takes a lot to unite Nigel Farage and Sir Ed Davey, but the Bank of England has managed it.

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The pair have both condemned the decision to replace historical figures such as Sir Winston Churchill on our banknotes with images of British wildlife. Yes, really - our wartime saviour cast aside for a beaver.

The Reform UK leader labelled the move “the definition of woke” that showed “how PC mad and loony everyone’s gone”, while the Lib Dem leader railed “Winston Churchill helped defeat fascism in Europe. He deserves better than being replaced by a badger”. They are both spot on.

Countries across the globe use their banknotes as a showcase for their greatest individuals. Would the US seriously countenance removing Abraham Lincoln from the five dollar bill to make way for a bald eagle? Or would India replace Mahatma Gandhi with a Bengal Tiger? Of course not. And yet Britain once again leads the way in self-flagellatory nonsense.

The Bank of England claims the change to wildlife imagery will create an opportunity to celebrate another important aspect of the nation. But all they’re really doing is playing into the hands of those who want to besmirch Churchill’s legacy and reduce his role in the national psyche.

In recent years, there has been a concerted campaign against the memory of the man once voted our Greatest Briton. From Black Lives Matter protestors spraying ‘was a racist’ on his statue in Parliament Square, to far-right pundits like Tucker Carlson disputing his wartime achievements, Churchill’s reputation is under attack. On his podcast in 2024, Carlson even platformed a so-called historian, Darryl Cooper, who claimed Churchill was the chief villain of the Second World War.

If our institutions, including the Bank of England, are not prepared to re-assert Churchill’s status as a national hero, then who will? And it’s not just Churchill whose presence on our banknotes should be preserved. In 2017, Jane Austen was added to the £50 note. It followed years of tireless campaigning for a woman (who wasn’t the Queen) to be featured. And yet after less than a decade, there are plans to remove her.

JM Turner and Alan Turing will also be sacrificed, with the new notes depicting wildlife native to the UK - such as plants, landscapes and animals. I’m afraid this is just the latest step in the twee-ification of Britain. What next? Paddington Bear on a fiver? A ‘live, laugh, love’ motto on a tenner? I’ve got nothing against badgers and beavers but I don’t need them in my wallet.

National symbols matter and while Britain’s past is far from spotless, we have a history we should be proud of. Winston Churchill, more than any other individual, led the resistance to the greatest evil the world has ever known. Removing his face from our banknotes isn’t just a short-sighted mistake, it’s a national disgrace. The Bank of England should take a leaf out of Sir Keir Starmer’s book and U-turn.

Listen to James Hanson on LBC on Sunday mornings between 4-7am.

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