Petition · past parliament

Take down all statues honouring historical slave traders

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

Great Britain has had a pivotal role in the transatlantic slave trade. Many historical figures who have had statues erected in their honour own slaves.

This is not the way to preserve history. Museums preserve history. Let's pull down these landmarks.
Pull down the landmarks and put them I museums. Let's start telling the truth about these individuals and what they really stood for.

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

9 Jun 2020 Petition opened for signatures
22 Jun 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 22 Jun 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.