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On a moody afternoon, near the sandstone terraces of Halifax’s Gibbet street, David Glover, a local historian, is opening the gates to Lister Lane cemetery.
Usually closed to the public, the burial ground is being opened today as an exception. Because here, among towering spires and the tombs of wealthy industrialists, lie the founders of one of West Yorkshire’s most famous exports: Halifax building society.
“Halifax has a number of superlatives,” says Glover, who serves as president of the Halifax Antiquarian Society. “It had the largest carpet manufacturer in the world, which was Crossley Carpets of Dean Clough. And it was the starting place of what became the greatest building society in the world, and I think everybody in Halifax is still quite proud of it.”
But what remains of the building society’s legacy is under threat after it emerged this week that Lloyds Banking Group was considering axing the near-173-year-old Halifax brand, which would scrub the name from Britain’s high streets once and for all. While the bank insists that a final decision has not yet been made, it is understood that a phaseout could start as soon as July, before being fully scrapped by October.
As for what the building society’s Victorian-era founders might think? “They would be absolutely horrified,” Glover says.
Lloyds took ownership of the Halifax brand nearly two decades ago in January 2009, when the financial crisis and a series of bad business decisions brought the combined Halifax-Bank of Scotland group to its knees.
By then, Halifax had long deviated from its building society roots, with members having voted to demutualise in the mid-1990s in the wake of Thatcher-era reforms. Halifax morphed into a listed bank with bona fide shareholders, before merging with the Bank of Scotland in 2001.
Seven years later, after the £20bn taxpayer-backed Lloyds takeover, HBOS was suddenly at the centre of one of Britain’s largest banking scandals, as it emerged that managers at its Reading branch were pushing small business customers into failure and stripping them of assets. An independent review, led by the former high court judge Dame Linda Dobbs, is still determining whether Lloyds tried to cover up the scandal.
But even 29 years after Halifax lost its mutual status – and despite the controversy, takeovers, and government bailout – Halifax residents are still fiercely loyal to the brand.
Down the road, in a crystals store lining the Halifax’s historical, imposing Piece Hall – once a hub for Georgian textile trading – Jayne Spence, a 59-year-old shopworker, is lamenting the potential loss of the Halifax name on Britain’s high streets. “I’ve always had an account with Halifax, mortgages with the Halifax, practically all my life, so it’s a big thing.”
The 59-year-old worries that “pencil pushers” at Lloyds may be underestimating its importance to local residents. “It means a lot to the people of Halifax, which is where it started. It’s a big thing and [chancellor] Rachel Reeves, worked there, didn’t she? Think about the people that actually built the brand up. Think about the little people that have got you into such a high status, so to speak.”
Nasar Ahmed, 50, worked at the Halifax as a graduate before it merged with Bank of Scotland. “Growing up, obviously all my family banked with it. My dad came [to Halifax] in 1962 and he’s always banked with Halifax,” he says, adding that his father, like many other customers, still referred to the lender as the Halifax building society.
Ahmed thinks Lloyds is only considering digital banking. “They’re thinking about where their new customer base is, which is mainly online. So they’re getting rid of the high street brand, the high-street processes there. And they’re looking to reduce cost as much as possible.” But eradicating the brand would have a “massive” impact on loyal customers and the wider region, he says.
“It will be a big loss to the high street. … even if it’s rebranded as Lloyds. Think about the loyalty to the brand, the commitment to the brand. People have still got a link to it, people have got affiliation to it, especially in Halifax: the birthplace of the bank itself. They’ve got a lot of love for it.”
But some Halifax residents, such as 35-year-old
Dara Adakoy, are indifferent. “It’s just about the transition for the older generation,” he says. “As a younger person, I don’t think it really makes any difference to me, you know what I mean? I’m not bothered.”
But the building society’s history still touches nearly ever corner of Halifax town centre. That includes the Old Cock pub, a 16th-century inn whose first-floor Oak Room served as a meeting place for founders to launch what became the Halifax Permanent Benefit Building Society in 1853.
The Old Cock’s manager, Chris Woodhead, says the loss of the Halifax brand “would be a shame because it’s been here for hundreds of years”. However, he says he expects bankers to be driven by profit. “I mean, they’re all going to make their own decisions, aren’t they? To me it’s just money. That’s all it is, money.”
Lloyds also risks sending a dangerous signal, including a lack of regard for the north of England, according to Neil Kendall, chief executive of the Mid-Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. “I think the only reason for wanting to quash the Halifax brand and retain the Bank of Scotland brand is because of the political and nationalising noise that they get from quashing the Bank of Scotland brand.
“So what that says to local people here, is: ‘Well, it’s OK to trample on Halifax, but it’s not OK to trample on Scotland,’ you know? So we don’t matter in the north and … I’m afraid it bears witness in the results of the local council elections.” Earlier this month, Reform UK secured a majority on West Yorkshire’s Calderdale council, with 34 seats, while the Greens took seven spots. It was a blow to the Labour party, which previously controlled Calderdale council, and to the Conservatives, who lost all their 11 seats.
As it stands, the Labour MP for Halifax, Kate Dearden, says she is taking up the cause and wants answers from Lloyds bosses. “The Halifax bank brand is a source of immense pride for our community,” she says. “Its recognition across the UK reflects the remarkable success of our town … These reports are therefore concerning, and I am seeking urgent clarification from Lloyds as to whether they are accurate.
“I strongly believe the Halifax brand should be retained and, if these reports prove to be correct, I will be making that case firmly at the highest levels and at every appropriate opportunity.”
Back in Lister Lane cemetery, near the monument marking the grave of one of the Halifax building society’s co-founders, Jonas Dearnley Taylor, Glover says Lloyds bosses should stop and think about the history they might bury. “Why are you doing this? Why do you need to? It has been a separate brand for so long, is this really necessary?”
But founders such as Taylor would fail to recognise the bank that Halifax has become. “They would have been horrified when it became a bank back in the 1990s. I think that was something they would never have particularly wanted. We’ve gone way beyond that.”
Lloyds said in a statement: “We regularly look at the role our brands play in supporting our customers. Our banking customers can already use any Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland branch, and see any of their products and services in any of their apps – there are no changes for our customers today.”
