History of our nation is not set in stone

It’s no surprise that Colin Bullen doesn’t like the National Trust re-assessing it’s properties for colonial or slavery links (October 1) but it is long overdue in my, and many others, views.

They have clear evidence for such links in 93, almost one third, of its properties and all may well have information about their histories, and those who owned or built them, changed to ensure that a full, warts and all, picture is given.

He’ll also be appalled that English Heritage are doing the same. Indeed David Lascalles, the eighth earl at Harwood House, Yorkshire, has been doing just that, including setting up a slavery archive and supporting black community groups in

Leeds saying: “You’re not responsible (for the past) but you are accountable. White liberal guilt is not terribly helpful, nor is pretending there’s not a problem”.

This applies to Churchill also in my view; he may well have saved us from fascism but his past has also included racist and colonialist statements, etc, and so should be reflected in his story.

But whilst the NT and EH are rightly updating, etc, the government is telling schools to ditch alleged anti-democratic and/or anti-capitalist books, etc. This surely is not only dictatorial but anti-democratic in itself.

The Tories could well find their own history banned on the same basis, it has after all opposed or dragged its feet over enfranchising large parts of the population at various times.

The economist Adam Smith, it has been said, would have some quite sharp words for today’s city trader capitalists as well.

So, as historian Michael Wood has said “We should keep rewriting history (where there is clear new evidence): our ‘island story is not set in stone”. Indeed, and given this government’s actions, perhaps that’s also the sound of Churchill, and maybe Ernie Bevan, both spinning in their graves?