Cabinet Office backs LGBTQ+ and ethnic minority visibility on UK banknotes

The Cabinet Office has urged the Bank of England to give LGBTQ+ people and ethnic minorities greater visibility on future banknotes, arguing that current designs portray only a narrow view of British identity.

In a letter to the Bank’s chief cashier during last year’s public consultation, the Office for Equality and Opportunity, led by women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson, said historical figures on notes have reflected only “limited dimensions of British identity”. It called for more representation of women, disabled people, ethnic minority communities and LGBTQ+ individuals as a clear signal of progress and recognition, The Telegraph reports.

The intervention followed the Bank’s decision to end the long-standing tradition of featuring historical personalities alongside the monarch, after research described figures such as Winston Churchill, Alan Turing and Jane Austen as “elitist and divisive”. The Bank will move to wildlife imagery instead, a choice it says is led by public consultation results and the need to stay ahead of counterfeiters.

The Cabinet Office submission, released under Freedom of Information laws, proposed themes such as social reform, civic action and education, and suggested symbols like the HMT Empire Windrush to acknowledge entire communities whose contributions have been overlooked. It pointed to wider public efforts, including Transport for London’s 2024 renaming of Overground lines such as the Suffragette and Windrush lines, as evidence that national symbols can be used to reflect a more inclusive story of Britain.

Opposition figures accused Labour of trying to “cancel” national heroes, but the Government said officials took part in the consultation as part of standard procedure and stressed that final decisions on design rest with the independent Bank of England. Governor Andrew Bailey will choose which animals appear on the next £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes from a shortlist of 18 native species.

For many LGBTQ+ people and allies, the debate shows how everyday symbols like banknotes can either exclude or affirm communities. Those who want to advance inclusion in their own careers and workplaces can turn that principle into action by signing up to myGwork, the global LGBTQ+ business community.