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For some reason, elite decisions without democratic participation to erect statues in the past are 'the people's preferences', but democratically elected local authorities' decisions to take down statues today are not. https://twitter.com/ChrisRenwick/status/1350743913611595776
I know this is just a Trumpian strategy to stir up a divisive culture war, and I'm reluctant to get sucked into the game, but it's still worth pointing out how slippery the 'historical' language being used here. 'The people' vs 'cultural committees'.
Take a real historical look at who decided to erect statues to the slaver Colston and the slaver and torturer Picton, preferring to highlight their philanthropic and military roles, rather than cloaking these real historical events in a present-minded language of 'the people'.
And then tell me why it is less legitimate now to draw attention to the enslavement and torture.
Not to get too ad hominem, but Jenrick's own record of overruling local government decisions and consultations on planning issues, for central government's own political reasons, makes this particular intervention even richer in irony.
