Remove all statues of slave traders on display in public places · petition

What the petition asks

To remove all statues commemorating slave owners, slave traders or people who actively gained and profited from slavery from memorials and public gardens or displays. Parliament could look to move these monuments to museums describing the atrocities which these people committed and benefited from.

We want Parliament to do this to help Britain move on and come to terms with it’s past. All memorials or statues commemorating former slave traders, owners or those who have directly profited from slavery represent a dark past in British history which does not reflect the strong, diverse nation we pride ourselves on being. It is important to remove these monuments so that we can move on and look towards a brighter inclusive future for Britain.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

Decisions about individual historical monuments, statues, plaques and street names are a matter for the local authority in which they are located and private landowners, not the UK Government or Parliament.

If you want to raise concerns about a particular historical monument or statue you should contact your local authority about this.

The Local Government Association has published an advice note to help councils work to ensure all sections of the community feel heard by decision-makers and each other: https://www.local.gov.uk/topics/community-safety/statues

We have published the following petitions, which you might like to sign:

Encourage and support the removal of memorials that glorify the slave trade: Encourage and support the removal of memorials that glorify the slave trade

Create an advisory board to review public statues and decide on their removal: Create an advisory board to review public statues and decide on their removal

Timeline

7 Jun 2020	Petition opened for signatures
19 Jun 2020	Rejected by the Petitions Committee