‘Woke’ bids to remove statues may be blocked
ANY attempts by councils to pull down historic statues could be blocked by the Government.
The move is aimed at deterring their removal without proper debate and comes as housing minister Christopher Pincher said he has written to Sadiq Khan after one of the London mayor’s advisers branded Georgian architecture “offensive”.
Mr Pincher told MPS the Government is also looking at proposals from the Conservative Common Sense Group to erect more statues to honour of Victoria Cross and George Cross medal winners.
He said there had been attempts to have a statue of former prime minister and police force founder Sir Robert Peel pulled down in his Tamworth constituency.
Mr Pincher said statues should be “retained and explained”, and any removal should require planning permission or listed building consent. He added that communities secretary Robert Jenrick “has the power to call in planning applications, and he has set out his intention to exercise that if appropriate”.
He also accused Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer of being a “POW – a prisoner of woke”.
Mr Pincher’s letter to Mr Khan comes after a series of tweets in which the mayor’s design advocate Dinah Bornat said: “The fortress style/display of wealth resonates through time. I wonder, is it starting
to resonate just a little too much for a lot of us? Imperialism starting to look, well, offensive? Just a thought.”
She went on: “I’m talking about offence caused by colonialism.which arguably goes beyond offence.”
She added: “I’m concerned this replica approach learns nothing and stifles cultural debate. Going so far as to define it as ‘beauty’ is politically troubling. If beauty harks back to oppression then we are on very dangerous ground.” In his letter to the mayor, Mr Pincher said: “I accept everyone has their own taste and that not everyone likes the Georgian style. However, it is probably one of the most popular both here and in many parts of the world, and many Georgian buildings are regarded as examples of beautiful design.
“To condemn a particular vernacular on the grounds of colonialism and oppression is bizarre.
“Once more the attitude and behaviours of another of your advisers seem very troubling.”
He added: “You may wish to ask several leading Labour Party figures, who happen to live in such houses in London, whether they believe their homes are offensive.
“Would your design advocates prefer the brutalist-style blocks akin to the Plattenbau of East Germany?”
Mr Pincher continued: “I must ask you whether you agree with these comments of your Housing Design Advocate?
“Are these views in line with the design future you see for our capital city?”