Right-wingers getting prickly over hedgehogs replacing Churchill on bank notes must be today’s funniest overreaction
Last year, the Bank of England announced that they would be allowing the public to vote on a theme to replace historical figures on banknotes. In March, they revealed that the winning theme would be British wildlife. Aw. Cute! The British love animals, so what could possibly go wrong?
Oh!
It says it all that Rachel Reeves is replacing Winston Churchill on our banknotes with a squirrel. https://t.co/eaGp6pvJj6
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) March 11, 2026
The Bank of England will feature wildlife on its new banknotes because it’s scared of being divisive. It states: ‘The theme should not involve imagery that would reasonably be offensive to, or exclude, any groups’.
When we had a common culture we honoured heroes like Wellington. https://t.co/lpPvoauiNO
— William Clouston SDP (@WilliamClouston) March 11, 2026
The Bank of England is replacing Winston Churchill with a picture of a beaver on our bank notes.
This is the definition of woke. https://t.co/3oMXZpXV11
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) March 11, 2026
The public voting for things they want is woke. Okay. Got it.
After yet more votes, the winning animals have been revealed, and they will be the barn owl, the buff-tailed bumblebee, the Atlantic puffin, and the European hedgehog.
Hedgehog among four chosen animals to feature on your new banknotes https://t.co/eMYKv71991
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) October 8, 2026
As if by magic, the right popped up again with the ‘hedgehogs are woke’ discourse. Here are just a few examples. Bring out your ‘usual suspects’ bingo cards.
This is not the behaviour of a strong. proud nation.
Hedgehogs are delightful but they are not heroes.
Our progressive leaders fear and despise our history and its great men and women. So they devalue our currency with whimsy.
Pathetic.
— Allison Pearson (@AllisonPearson) October 8, 2026
🚨 BREAKING: The Bank of England has revealed the four animals set to replace Churchill and other historic figures on our banknotes: a hedgehog, puffin, barn owl and bumblebee.
Churchill led Britain through its darkest hour. Should his place on the £5 note really be given to wildlife? 🇬🇧
— Matt Vickers MP (@Matt_VickersMP) October 8, 2026
Bumblebees, puffins, barn owls and hedgehogs will feature on the Bank of England’s next series of banknotes, replacing Winston Churchill and other British historic figures. It’s been confirmed today. I wrote about the war against our past back in March
https://t.co/chk140qxrG— Matt Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) October 8, 2026
Bumblebees, puffins, barn owls and hedgehogs will feature on the Bank of England’s next series of banknotes, replacing Winston Churchill and other British historic figures after they were deemed "elitist and divisive". https://t.co/llbvxQhhFK
— Toby Young (@toadmeister) October 8, 2026
The @bankofengland has been making war on the people of this country since at least 2008 but I never expected them to give it pictorial expression.
— Lord Moylan (@danielmgmoylan) October 8, 2026
Facepalms all round. Tweeters had no time for the outbreak of pearl clutching.