Glasgow City council have engaged a private company to “listen to community views” while re-designing George Square. George Square has a long and varied history and is a famous landmark in Glasgow.
However, it seems as though this consultation could be a carefully crafted excuse to attack our history. (See the link at the bottom of this page)
To quote from one Glaswegian: “They’re using the renovation of George Square as an excuse to “explore the retention, removal or relocation of statues”.
The statues in George Square include Queen Victoria, and Prime Ministers Peel and Gladstone. And several others, who, in their time were great businessmen, politicians or benefactors to both the City of Glasgow and to many charitable causes.
Given the way the world worked then, these people did the best they could. However the statues of such people will be up for debate when Glasgow City Council complete their “consultation.”
People are being asked: “What do we want for our city’s front room? In a way that suggests there is something offensive about it as it is.
A recent discussion about George Square concluded that parts of the Square are no longer relevant, and that they have no connection with Glaswegians in this century. And that there could be some who felt the statues were inappropriate or offensive.
There is a long questionnaire to fill in (though there is nowhere to leave personal details which means anyone could fill in the questionnaire as often as they wished) which asks a variety of measures which could be taken when George Square is re-designed.
One telling question refers to the fact that previous generations have felt that George Square “should be the home for a wide variety of activities and amenities from protest to Christmas Markets”
It would appear that the right to protest in George Square is under scrutiny by the left wing Glasgow City Council. The SNP are the largest party on the council at present. Furthermore, there is no assurance that any “new design” would include those statutes which celebrate our history.
History cannot be wiped out; and we should honour those who contributed so much to our past.
Given that Nelson Mandela (who spent much of his life as a terrorist) has his own statue in Parliament Square in Westminster, it would be absurd to remove any of Glasgow’s statues.
There is no suggestion that historical figures on national statues, (should they be judged by current standards), were perfect; but they did their best for their age and stage in our history. On the whole, our glorious history and cultural heritage should be celebrated, not frowned upon.
There is always a way to fight back and preserve our history and statues, and the British Democrats intend to be at the forefront of the forthcoming political battle.
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Have your say on the George Square consultation. Use the link below.
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