What's worth more: Churchill or a woke badger? Welcome to Britain's banknote culture war | Jonn Elledge

Self-appointed patriots are up in arms about a plan to replace historical figures with cute wildlife. The Bank of England shouldn’t duck this debate

One day soon we may finally have an answer to a question that has stumped philosophers through the ages: which is worth more, a beaver or a robin? We might be able to place actual monetary values on barn owls or stags, too. Any one of them could even be considered worth more than Winston Churchill.

That’s because the Bank of England has announced that the next update of British banknotes will end the half-century tradition of designs featuring historic notables. (Charles III, whose historic notability we won’t be clear on for some time, will remain.) In their place will come representations of patriotic British wildlife, shortlisted by a panel of experts, then chosen by public vote. In a transparent attempt to avoid national humiliation of a “Goaty McGoatface” variety, the Bank’s governor will get the final say.

Jonn Elledge is former assistant editor of the New Statesman and the author of books including A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps