Stevenson Delighted at New Plastic £5 Note from Scotland

Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, is delighted that the Clydesdale Bank in Scotland is issuing its first polymer banknote a year before the Bank of England.

The limited edition £5 note is the first of its kind to enter circulation in Great Britain, and Clydesdale Bank plan to issue two million of the new banknotes.

Mr Stevenson said:

“The Clydesdale Bank is breaking new ground by issuing this new polymer £5 bank note and I welcome its innovation. They will include added security features and have been estimated to last two and a half times longer than paper banknotes.”

The new Clydesdale plastic note features an image of the Forth Bridge and has been issued to commemorate the bridge's 125th anniversary. It also features a portrait of Sir William Arrol, whose company constructed the bridge among many other landmarks in Scotland.

More than 20 countries around the world have adopted polymer notes. In 1999, Northern Bank of Northern Ireland issued a polymer £5 commemorative note celebrating the year 2000. A plastic note was introduced in the Isle of Man in 1983 but was withdrawn in 1988 owing to problems with the ink.

Limited edition notes will be available from branches of the Clydesdale.