Statues of ‘old white men’ may need to be destroyed, Welsh government advises

Historical figures praised in their day may now be perceived as 'aggressors' out 'to expand the British Empire', warns new guidance

Admiral Nelson, Sir Thomas Picton, the Duke of Wellington and Henry Morton Stanley all have statues in Wales
Admiral Nelson, Sir Thomas Picton, the Duke of Wellington and Henry Morton Stanley all have statues in Wales

Statues of “old white men” such as the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Lord Nelson could be hidden or destroyed to create the “right historical narrative”, according to Welsh government guidance.

Historical statues that often glorify “powerful, older, able-bodied white men” may be “offensive” to a more diverse modern public, according to guidance which is expected to be finalised this month.

The government's "best-practice" advice states that councils and other public bodies should “take action” to set the “right historical narrative”.

It says authorities could “conceal commemorations” and “discretely box monuments or enclose them creatively in new artworks”.

Street and buildings could also be changed, the guidance states, to “remove offensive or unwanted names”.

Alternatively, “offensive or unwanted items” could be relocated or destroyed, the advisory documents state, while noting drawbacks including expense and the need for extensive public consultation.

Nelson
A statue of Nelson on the Menai Strait, Anglesey Credit: Alamy

Public commemorations including paintings, plaques and statues, the advice states, should “not insult or hurt fellow citizens”.

It claims that existing monuments “can be offensive to people today who see them in a different light”, including as “aggressors who conquered peoples to expand the British Empire”.

Diversity is “hardly visible at all in public commemorations”, it says, with existing memorials giving the “perception that the achievements that society considers noteworthy are those of powerful, older, able-bodied white men”.

To “dispel” this narrative, and end the “perpetuation of racist colonial myths about white superiority”, potentially offensive older monuments can be “re-evaluated” with the help of public and expert consultation.

However, officials note that the “relative preponderance of white historians over other identities can skew understanding”.

In 2020 a statue of Sir Thomas Picton was boarded up at Cardiff City Hall after the city's mayor called for its removal.

Sir Thomas was hailed as a hero following his death at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, but his legacy as governor of Trinidad has been questioned and he was also involved in the slave trade.

The advice follows a 2021 government-backed “audit of commemoration” in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, which covered hundreds of statues, plaques, buildings and street names linked to “the slave trade and British Empire”.

It named Welsh explorer Henry Morton Stanley as among figures honoured with a statue who committed “crimes against black people”, while the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Lord Nelson were among the memorialised deemed to have “opposed abolition”.

Duke of Wellington
The Duke of Wellington is honoured with a statue in Brecon Credit: Alamy

The audit’s subsequent “Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan” outlined public bodies’ responsibility for “setting the right historical narrative” and aimed to recognise “historical injustices” while also pointing out the “positive impact” of minority communities.

The draft guidance announced by Dawn Bowden, the deputy minister for arts, has been the subject of a recent consultation, with a final version set to be issued this month. Ministers have said it steers best practice and is not mandatory. Major changes are not expected.

Andrew RT Davies, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, has raised concerns that the guidance represents an “Orwellian” attempt to have public bodies rewrite history.

He told the Telegraph: “Whether it is their erroneous misguidance for public bodies or their so-called ‘Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan’, Labour are intent on rewriting our history here in Wales.

“Labour have been captured by a hard-Left, anti-British mob who want nothing more than to topple our statues, tear up the works of classic authors and cancel our great orators, all in the name of virtue signalling.

“Statues may well offend some people, but that does not make them any less a part of Wales’ rich history. What happened to remembering the mistakes of the past and learning the lessons?

“We should be punishing woke vandals for denigrating our history and damaging our monuments, not kowtowing to them by ‘concealing statues’ as this document suggests.”

“Rest assured, I will be pushing hard against these Orwellian moves with Welsh Conservative colleagues, that are unfortunately becoming more and more common from the socialists in Cardiff Bay.”

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