Moral Maze - Is it time to ditch historical figures as heroes?
Download Is it time to ditch historical figures as heroes?
The Bank of England has been accused of being the 'Bank of Wokeness' after proposing to cut historical figures from banknotes. Images of Winston Churchill, Jane Austen and Alan Turing could be replaced by images of themes such as nature, innovation, or key events in history. It raises the possibility of British birds, bridges, or bangers and mash featuring on the next series of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes and would take us down the route favoured by the Euro which feature many an imaginary structure or window. But what do we lose when we potentially erase these historical figures from a place in our pocket? Are they problematic figures who are essentially divisive? Or are we discarding important figures who achieved greatness and still embody moral values? Is the concept of heroism one we need to reject altogether or do stories of human endeavour still represent the best way to promote culture and identity?
PANEL: Anne McElvoy, Ash Sarkar, Matthew Taylor, Tim Stanley
WITNESSES:
Paul Lay, Historian
Maddy Fry, Writer and Journalist
Professor Simon Goldhill, Historian
Professor Ellis Cashmore
CHAIR Michael Buerk
PRODUCER: Catherine Murray
ASST PRODUCER: PETER EVERETT
PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR: Pete Liggins
EDITOR: Tim Pemberton
Published on Thursday, 10th July 2025.
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