£51,000 of tax-payer’s money is spent on Bank of England’s ‘woke’ and ‘inclusive’ rebrand
£51,000 of tax-payer’s money is spent on Bank of England’s ‘woke’ and ‘inclusive’ rebrand which replaces Britannia’s flag of St George shield with one bearing the Union Flag
Bank of England bosses were branded ‘woke idiots’ following change on March 4Freedom of Information request shows more than £20k spent on new font aloneThe 328-year-old seal also saw pile of money removed image of Britannia edited
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The Bank of England‘s ‘woke’ re-brand which saw the flag of St George removed from its logo cost the taxpayer more than £51,000, it has emerged.
The widely-criticised move in early March saw the flag replaced with the Union Jack because it is ‘more inclusive’ – leading some to accuse the institution of being ‘ashamed to be English’.
The Bank’s bosses were branded ‘woke idiots’ after making several other controversial changes to its 328-year-old seal, including removing the pile of money at the feet of Britannia – the female personification of Britain.
While her right hand still holds a spear, she is depicted in a more passive stance, with her left arm – which wields an olive branch representing peace – now bent rather than thrusting forwards.
According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, obtained by Guido Fawkes, the total cost of the logo and font rebrand was £51,694.49.
The institution used a company called Epic Icons to design the Britannia symbol, paying them £6,720, while Lee Funnell is listed as providing ‘photography for the visual identity’, to the tune of £14,809.27.
The old seal (pictured left) was redesigned (right) in a move the Bank says ‘reflects our commitment to be plainer and simpler’. It cost the taxpayer more than £51,000, with more than £22,000 spent on the font alone.
Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey (pictured), said the move was part of the Bank’s mission to be ‘inclusive and accessible’
Font design and licence of usage set the bank back, £22,337.22, paid to Monotype Limited, while a £7,728 bill for animation guidelines and film was paid to RedSofa.
When asked what about the new logo is inclusive, the bank said: ‘Our new Britannia symbol is now readable for mobile users and also better reflects our current mission and values
‘The key changes we have made are to replace the St George’s Cross on the shield with a Union Flag, and to remove the coins (the latter also helps us to increase the size of the Britannia within the symbol).’
John Bell, a retired academic, said following the update on March 4: ‘So the Bank of England is ashamed of being a Bank (no pile of coins) and English (cross of St George replaced by the Union flag), and even of Britannia’s (and its) role as the spreader of peace and prosperity (enfeebled Britannia).’
Former MEP Rupert Lowe commented: ‘The Bank of England is spending their time/our money redesigning their logo to become more ”inclusive”….
‘I mean honestly what are these people playing at? Incompetent, woke idiots.’
Others also took to Twitter to express their anger at the politically correct rebranding.
Simon Barrall wrote: ‘Why has the Bank of England removed the Cross of St George from its logo and replaced it with the Union flag? It is the Bank of ENGLAND?’
Another critic said: ‘And the metropolitan liberal (so called) elite wonder why English nationalism is on the rise!’
The Bank of England, pictured, said it wanted to become more ‘inclusive’ and this was a driving force behind the changes
While logo has not been entirely overhauled, there are a number of obvious differences between the new and the old.
A pile of what appear to be coins laying at the feet of Britannia have disappeared from the new seal, as have the feet themselves.
Meanwhile, the shield resting next to her has been redesigned, with the St George’s cross on the previous version being replaced with the Union Jack.
And Britannia herself has shifted – no longer sat side-on, she has turned slightly to a more face-on position.
On its website, the Bank had said its mission was ‘to serve the people of the UK’ and it had looked at this as part of the redesign, adding the new logo ‘reflects our commitment to be plainer and simpler’.
It said: ‘One part of how we communicate is the ‘look and feel’ of our content. That includes things like our logo, and the colours and typography we use.
‘We want to make these things more accessible and inclusive. So our in-house designers have worked with industry leaders to create a new, digital-first ‘visual identity system’ for our website and publications.
‘We will keep on working to improve the way we communicate because this will help us to carry out our mission.’
While the logo is the most obvious change, the Bank added it had redesigned its website and typeface to make it easier to read for people with dyslexia.
It said: ‘It’s estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia.
‘So we have designed a new typeface that is easier to read.
‘The design was created by industry-leaders in type design. It’s based on guidance by the British Dyslexia Association.’
It added it had changed its use of colours, inspired by those used on its banknotes, to make the contrast between the colour of the text and backgrounds better.
Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, said: ‘The Bank of England has been around for hundreds of years, but it embraces advances in digital technology.
‘These advances have brought many benefits.
‘One is that it brings us closer to the public we serve.
‘We know this means we have to explain what we do and why.
‘How we communicate is part of how we carry out our mission. We intend to keep trying to make our communications more inclusive and accessible for everyone.’
It comes after the Bank came under fire for removing portraits of former governors who were linked to the slave trade in June last year.
Governor Andrew Bailey was accused of taking part in a ‘latter-day Bonfire of the Vanities’ after the objects were removed following a review.
The seven figures include colonial trader Sir Gilbert Heathcote and slave traders Sir Robert Clayton, and Robert Bristow.
Sir James Bateman acted for the Royal African Company – the foremost slave trading enterprise of the time – while William Manning and John Pearse held investments in plantations.
The seventh figure is William Dawsonne, director of the bank from 1698 to 1719.
A spokesman for the Bank of England said: ‘In June 2020, the Bank announced a review of its collection of images of former governors and directors, to ensure none with known involvement of the slave trade remain on display anywhere in the Bank.’
