Should local councils remove public statues of historical British figures who were involved in the slave trade or imperialism?

The 'culture war' debate over Britain's memorial landscape exploded into the mainstream in 2020 when protestors in Bristol toppled the statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston and threw it into the harbor. This catalyzed a nationwide audit of street names, university buildings, and public monuments linked to the British Empire, forcing institutions to reckon with how history is curated in public spaces. Proponents of removal argue that statues are symbols of veneration, not history books, and that taking them down reflects a mature society correcting past injustices. Opponents argue that removing statues 'cancels' history, warning that sanitizing the past prevents future generations from learning from it and often targets figures who also made significant philanthropic or historical contributions.