Democratic will of the people was ignored – so the people took action

YOUR regular correspondent Julian Hill is talking utter nonsense again in his rant about the removal of the statue of detested slave trader Edward Colston.

The removal of the statue was what most people in Bristol wanted. Over 11,000 people signed a petition calling for the removal of the statue.

Mr Hill ignores that. It was because this democratic will of the people was thwarted that direct, democratic action was needed.

Anything over 3,500 signatures on a petition in a local democracy is a large number.

Opinion polls, too, showed that most people wanted it removed. Only a tiny, tiny minority (probably including Mr Hill) wanted it to stay.

And sorry Mr Hill, but opinion polls now show exactly the same – most people don’t want it put back, they want it put into a museum, which is where it’s going.

So in fact the wishes of the people were served by the removal of the statue. Mr Hill and others will find that hard to accept, but there you go.

The toppling of the statue has improved Bristol and reverberated around the world! Iit put Bristol on the map again, and people have praised the civic actions of Bristolians.

Mr Hill’s blinkers also colour and warp his attitude towards David Olusoga, a published historian who lives in Bristol. Now Mr Hill may not like the historical truths which Mr Olusoga covers, but Mr Hill is not a published historian and nor does he have a column in the BBC History Magazine.

You sense that Mr Hill has some “unresolved issues” and is intolerant towards minorities and people who are “not like him”.

Removing Colston’s statue was a great democratic event and will be remembered for decades.

Three cheers to the statue topplers.

Doug Henderson Bristol