The Bank of England (BoE) has announced that in the next round of British banknote redesigns, historical figures will be replaced with animals, plants, or scenery.The reason given for this change has been cited as allowing for further countermeasures to prevent counterfeit bills, but this decision has struck many, myself included, as yet another attempt by the current British government to erase the history of the storied island nation.The decision was made after a consultation with the public, with the category of "nature" being the winning theme for the next series of banknotes.Although I appreciate their consultation of the public, this decision, democratic or not, feels like it has been made with ulterior motives in mind.The current banknotes contain the portraits of several icons of British history, including former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill (£5), writer Jane Austen (£10), painter J.M.W. Turner (£20), and the inventor of the computer Alan Turing (£50).The decision to replace historical figures with badgers and beavers may make sense in a less accomplished country, but the United Kingdom may arguably have the greatest roster of historical heroes to choose from. The change in banknote design has garnered criticism from across the political spectrum, with figures on the right like Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and figures on the left like Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey both criticizing the change by the BoE..This cross-partisan criticism highlights the importance of honouring these figures, especially on something as simple as the nation's banknotes, and speaks to the importance of the veneration and maintenance of national institutions and icons.And don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with showcasing a nation's natural beauty, but for a nation like Britain, especially at this current moment, veneration of national heroes is something that seems needed now more than ever.This news comes as the Labour government has sought to remove hereditary peers from the House of Lords, as well as the announcement that jury trials will be further limited, showcasing how little the current administration cares for, or understands, what makes the United Kingdom unique.It may come across as pedantic to care this much about who or what is put on banknotes, but it is this decision, among others, that highlights the slow decay of British culture and the wilful ignorance of history that has been propagated by the Starmer government. In the poem "The Glory of the Garden," the great British poet Rudyard Kipling writes about the constant need to care for and maintain a garden lest it get overgrown and lose its beauty.Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made.By singing: “Oh, how beautiful!” and sitting in the shade.The poem addresses the fact that a garden, like a nation, will not maintain its beauty or its glory if the gardeners neglect simple and tedious tasks such as budding roses or removing weeds..Such parallels must be drawn to the current state of the United Kingdom in actions such as the removal of historical figures or the neglect of historical institutions.In this sense, these actions serve to neglect the Garden of England, as it were, with the removal of historical figures on banknotes being equated to the paving over of a rose bed.Although this comes off as an artsy metaphor, it should truly be taken to heart.My issue is less about the individual decision to redesign banknotes and more about a broader degradation of British culture and history that has been undertaken, not just by the current Labour government but the preceding Conservative ones as well.The banknote redesign is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back; change, whether good or bad, rarely happens quickly and all at once.These little changes, such as this banknote fiasco, build and coalesce over time to permanently and irreversibly alter what the very idea and makeup of a nation can be.If institutions are not maintained, if history is not learned from, and if the heroes who have built your nation are discarded rather than celebrated, then you have trampled over the once-flourishing garden that was once England.
