Winston Churchill.

Currency Coin Update (Daiy Coin Collecting News) has an interview with Victoria Cleland, The Bank of England’s Head of Notes Division who talks about the selection process for who appears on bank notes and why dear, old Winnie:

"It’s always a very difficult decision, deciding on the next personality because we’re fortunate in the UK to have so many people to choose from and… we need to keep in mind getting the right balance between the different fields, backgrounds and experiences, sometimes we will choose from people in the Arts or Science and to get that balance is important. I think once we chose Winston Churchill, the name almost spoke for itself – it was great to see how many people welcomed the choice. With Churchill, we got the great statesman, a Nobel Prize winner for his writings – and an artist so, in this respect, you can say we covered many fields. I might add that the Nobel prize (he was awarded) will also feature in the actual design."

Nevertheless, pity about the Jane Austen quote.