How Bristol’s politicians have responded to Colston’s fall

Everyone from US rapper Ice Cube to former England football captain Gary Lineker has had their say on the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue.

Closer to home, Bristol’s politicians have all responded to the historic events of Sunday afternoon.

Here is what they said:

Labour Party

“The Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol… was an expression of many Bristolians’ call for the racism that exists in our country and across the world to stop. We all support those calls.

“The statue of Edward Colston should have been taken down a long time ago. It was an affront to many in our city and its removal was historically symbolic for that reason.

“However, we don’t condone criminal damage and Avon and Somerset Police have our full support, both in their actions yesterday and in their investigation.

“We fully support the call of Bristol mayor Marvin Rees; that this must now be about the future of our city, tackling racism and inequality.”

MPs Thangam Debbonaire, Karin Smyth, Kerry McCarthy and Darren Jones

Conservative Party

“Protestors ignoring lockdown and social distancing rules, took it upon themselves to tear down Edward Colston’s statue in the city centre. As a point of principle, I do not believe that anyone has the right to deface or destroy public property, no matter how warranted they believe their actions or motivation to be.

“Edward Colston is at the very least a controversial figure in Bristol. His money was derived from the horrors of the slave trade although his philanthropy supported many local organisations and helped develop the city.

“Bristol’s mayor, rather than voicing his concerns at the unruly behaviour witnessed on our streets, has stated that he believes the criminal actions of the protesters are in some way justified.

“Let me make it crystal clear. I believe that the perpetrators should be prosecuted for what is a wanton act of criminal damage. I also question why the statue wasn’t barricaded off and better protected to begin with, especially given that other monuments, like the statue of Winston Churchill or war memorials, have been repeatedly defaced by acts of vandalism.

“Colston, and his slave-trading contemporaries, are a shameful part of our history but we don’t change anything by seeking to remove it. Sanitising the past in this way achieves nothing.”

Mark Weston, Bristol Conservative group leader

Liberal Democrat Party

“Bristol made international news not for the marching of that majority but for the direct actions of some and we would like to offer our support to Avon & Somerset Police in their decision to not directly intervene at the time. It is clear that a heavy-handed police response could not only have resulted in injuries to both protesters and police alike, but, as feared by police, could have further inflamed tensions.

“In the UK, policing with consent means that trust must be restored in both our policing and democratic structures to ensure individuals have no need to take direct action again.

“However, the police do need to investigate if crimes were committed by a tiny percentage of the otherwise peaceful and law-abiding protesters, and the individuals involved should face due process and a jury of their peers, a right which was cruelly taken away from George Floyd.

“For too long, BAME Bristolians had to walk under a statue glorifying a man who made his fortune by the slave trade. It is estimated that Edward Colston was directly responsible for 84,000 people being sold into slavery, with 19,000 people dying in transit, let alone in bondage. While the city may have inherited assets from his philanthropic efforts, the method in which he made his money means that this man should not be honoured with a statue at the centre of our multicultural city.

“We cannot change history, instead we must educate people to the horrors of the past, not glorify those who committed unimaginable cruelties. We, like many others cannot fathom why the statue was put up in the first place, and how it has taken so long for it to be removed.”

Mary Page, mayoral candidate

Green Party

“I have always advocated that the statue be put in a museum in an appropriate context. There have been many opportunities to do this that have been ignored. With the global movement of Black Lives Matter we could have hoped our request to have it removed would have been honoured.

“But in my experience of the last five years that question has always been avoided and sidelined by the administration which has resulted in this dramatic action.

“Whilst the way the statue was taken down could have been different, I fully support how the incident was policed under the watch of Supt. Andy Bennett.

“The police facilitated a peaceful protest allowing people to come together and make their voices heard on a global stage about a global issue which is Black Lives Matter.”

Cleo Lake, former Bristol lord mayor

Main photo: Bedminster Fire Station

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