Mary Macleod warmly welcomes ‘wonderful choice’

Mary has warmly welcomed Jane Austen as the Bank of England’s choice for the new £10 note.

At a special event at the former home of the author, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney unveiled the new note and announced a review of how we choose historical figures to go on our notes in the future. The news comes after a campaign to recognise women on banknotes following the withdrawal of Elizabeth Fry from the £5 note.

Mary wrote to Governor Carney on his first day in office, expressing her disappointment that British banknotes would depict no female historical figures. She asked him to detail what plans he had put in place to consider the representation of women on banknotes in the future. Mr Carney replied quickly to confirm that he would be making an announcement shortly after his first major meeting on 17th July.

Mary commented:

 “I think it’s fantastic that the Bank of England have taken action so quickly on making sure women continue to be represented on our bank notes. As I mentioned in my letter to the Governor, Mark Carney, women play a vital role in public life and need to be recognised as role models for aspiring women and girls. Jane Austen is a wonderful choice: a figure of great historical importance who serves – and will serve - as an inspiration to women and girls everywhere.”

“Although not well recognised during her own lifetime, I hope that through her new place on our currency, generations of women will discover and rediscover just how important she is to the world of literature and beyond.”

The Austen note will be issued within a year of the new £5 note depicting Sir Winston Churchill, which is due to come into circulation in 2016.

You can view Mary’s original letter to Governor Carney and his response here: www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/letterexchange.aspx

PHOTO: Mary Macleod MP with Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney