Statues should stay, says Tory mayor hopeful
‘Making yourself guilty for everything doesn’t make me feel better. Being treated as an equal does’
“WELL-MEANING” white people should stop “flagellating” themselves over statues that are linked to Britain’s colonial past, the Tories’ mayoral candidate has said.
Shaun Bailey, who was brought up in a British Jamaican family by his mother in west London, said that more than eight out of 10 black Londoners want contentious statues to stay.
Mr Bailey told today’s Chopper’s Politics podcast: “Everybody knows that there is no country in the world whose history is unblemished, but you have to study it warts and all. That’s how we learn. You don’t help one black child by removing parts of British history that might be uncomfortable. You learn from them, you value them, you look at them, you move on.”
Mr Bailey added: “I think sometimes people who are white, who are really well-meaning, have no colour bias at all, they want to make a gesture, they want to show that they’re trying to support their black friends and colleagues and neighbours.
“But for me, the way to do that is just to welcome people in, you don’t have to flagellate yourself, making yourself guilty for everything doesn’t make me feel better.
“What makes me feel better is being treated as an equal. I always say to people, I don’t want to be tolerated, I don’t want racial tolerance, I want acceptance.
“I want to be loved. You know, you have to imagine marrying me. When you get to the point where you could quite happily marry me, then you’re there.”
In the interview Mr Bailey committed to scrapping a planned extension of the outer London congestion charge in October.
Sadiq Khan, the serving Mayor of London, is looking to charge all vehicles registered outside of the capital £3.50 every time they cross the boundary into any London borough.
The new levy would “encourage people to drive around more, not less”, Mr Bailey said, because people would be more likely to drive around inside the charging zone.
He added: “I simply will not do it… It cuts particular communities in half, which means poorer people in those communities simply won’t be able to afford to exist.”
Mr Bailey also pledged to launch an anti-litter campaign to tidy up the capital, saying: “One of my pet peeves is littering. It drives me bananas. I really hate it… I will do a London wide litter campaign just to remind people this rubbish does not pick itself up, please use the bins.”
He also set out his opposition to vaccine passports in the capital, asking: “Can you imagine going into Tesco and someone saying ‘right where’s your passport?’.
“I just don’t think it would work! I’m [not] being facetious when I say Tesco, but I just don’t think it will work.
“I don’t think it works for the British sensibility, and I don’t think it works from an admin point of view.”
Mr Bailey continued: “What we need to do is observe the rules, get as far from this vaccination programme as we can, and just be driven by data, not fear.”
Listen to the interview with Christopher Hope on Chopper’s Politics podcast at playpodca.st/Chopper.