Asked by: Lord Adonis (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to conduct a public consultation on removing the statue of Robert Clive on King Charles Street in Westminster.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
There are no plans for a public consultation on removing the statue of Robert Clive on King Charles Street in Westminster.
The Government does not propose to remove statues or memorials on its property. We believe it is always legitimate to examine and debate Britain’s history, but removing statues is not the right approach.
The statues in our cities and towns were put up by previous generations, who had different perspectives and different understandings of right and wrong. But those statues play an important role in teaching us about our past, with all its faults.
The Government therefore believes that we should use heritage to educate people about all aspects of Britain’s complex past, good and bad, rather than airbrushing history.
Historic England, as the Government’s adviser on the historic environment, have set out why they believe removing difficult and contentious parts of the historic environment risks harming our understanding of our collective past. They and other heritage funding bodies invest significantly in improving public access to historical objects, providing contemporary interpretation of them and supporting diverse heritage projects around the country.