Blackburn divided over removal of Gladstone statue

They have been having their say since the news broke with some saying we should destroy all links to slavers of the past and some disagreeing that it simply denounces history.

Blackburn with Darwen Council revealed it would consult carefully before making any changes to remove statues in the town with links to slavery.

This comes as Black Lives Matter protesters urged councils across the country to review statues such as the one of 19th century prime minister William Gladstone in Northgate.

Former councillor and mayor of Blackburn with Darwen, Salim Mulla, agreed with the review and said that changes must be made.

He said: “Nobody is suggesting we dismantle the buildings that slaves built.

“It is the glorification of the men who made their fortunes and fame from the slave trade that is in question.

“Gladstone’s family was involved in the slave trade so it is right to consider whether the town should celebrate his life if it is found that this life involved the slavery of others.”

Michael Puddephatt said: “The people who helped found a town or made it prosper are important, no matter how awful they were as people.

“It’s part of the history and we shouldn’t hide or it remove it just because some people find it too uncomfortable.”

Kate Macfarlane argued that the statues should be replaced.

She said: “We could always replace them with statues of people deserving of them, decent people who did stuff for us without contributing to the misery or exploitation of others.”

Martin Redhead said: “These statues have been erected for years, they are literally fixtures in towns and cities.

“It’s only in the last week they’ve started to offend everyone, I bet 99% protesting for their removal didn’t even know anything about the statues before the protesters drew up their hit list.”

Protesters have also called for the removal of statues in the North West of Sir Robert Peel, the 19th century prime minister, over his father’s involvement in the slave trade.