Petition details
Honour the Clement Attlee as part of the new Town Hall development
Attlee has not been sufficiently commemorated in comparison to other statesmen with a comparable lasting achievement (and honoured by statues in Parliament Square).
The postwar 1945 Labour government, which he led, transformed our society in many ways. Its radical programme introduced the welfare state, the NHS, full employment, nationalized the Bank of England, transport and energy, advanced women’s rights, extended social services, gave independence to the Indian empire. As Churchill’s deputy in the wartime coalition government his contribution was vital to the war effort.
He had a unique relationship with Tower Hamlets. He came as a student doing charity work in Stepney. He quickly realized that poverty, ill health and ignorance were not the result of some moral deficiency in them but due to the social and economic system. He rejected charity and advocated became a committed socialist. He became a Labour grass roots activist, mayor of Stepney then MP for Limehouse that he represented for 29 years.
He never wavered from his early commitment to seek to improve the lives of the people of Tower Hamlets and when he became prime minister, forty years later, he carried out that ambition. He also made an early commitment to independence for the Indian Empire and delivered on that. Later in the Lords, he was an early supporter of gay rights. It is a scandal that his achievement is not better commemorated, especially by his adopted borough that is now Tower Hamlets.
This Petition ran from 05/07/2021 to 30/08/2021 and has now finished.
8 people signed this Petition.
Council response
I write in regard to the petition submitted on the 3rd July 2021 regarding the honouring of Clement Atlee as part of the new Town Hall development. In particular, movement of the statue from its current location (Mile End campus of Queen Mary University) to a more suitable and salient location.
The council is committed to celebrating the legacy of those with a local connection who have had a significant impact on the history of the borough and beyond. As outlined in the petition, Clement Atlee’s local connection is clear as well as his impact at both a local and national level, particularly the policies and provisions concerning welfare and support for those most in need.
The current location of the statue is of great significance to the legacy of Clement Atlee, as it marks the site of the election count attended in 1945, where he learned his party had won sufficient seats in parliament to form the first post-war government. Due to this site within Tower Hamlets having a specific connection with the legacy of Clement Atlee, the relocation of the statue to another part of the borough without a distinct connection cannot be progressed.
Furthermore, as part of government’s current focus to preserve historic monuments in situ, any such proposal is likely to be very resource intensive in that proposals to remove/relocate are now likely to require listing building consent/planning permission. If granted, provisions are also planned to be put in place which would require further consent from Historic England and MHCLG before progressing. Further permissions/agreements would also be required dependent on the land ownership arrangements of where the statue is currently located which may further reduce the likelihood of relocating the statue despite any strategic imperative.
As part of broader discourse around celebrating local legacies through public realm (e.g. street names, plaques, statues, buildings, community spaces etc), the council has recently undertaken a consultation to identify any legacies which are under-represented in the borough’s local environment. The consultation identified that despite the borough’s diverse population and rich heritage, a number of key groups from diverse backgrounds/narratives are largely under-represented.
Over the coming months the council is committed to improve the breadth of legacies which are celebrated in the public realm, including those referenced in the petition as well as other characteristics relating to age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability etc. As part of this commitment, we will continue to engage with local residents on specific legacies for inclusion. Grateful for your petition on this subject, we would welcome any input you have into these consultations, which when live, will be available on the council’s consultation platform: https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/council_and_democracy/consultations/consultations.aspx
Kind regards,
Andy Simpson
Head of Strategy and Policy – Place