Council to debate referendum on Clive of India statue’s removal

Some people want the statue of Clive of India removed

A council is to debate whether the removal of a statue should be put to a county-wide referendum in the wake of recent anti-racism protests.

People are split over the Clive of India monument which has stood in Shrewsbury's square since 1860.

Inspired by Black Lives Matter demonstrations, two petitions calling for the removal of the statue have gained 23,000 signatures between them.

Councillor Nat Green said its future should be put to local people.

A counter petition has been signed by more than 8,000 people saying removing it would be to erase part of the town's history.

Liberal Democrat Mr Green's motion said it was clear "passions have run high on both sides of the argument".

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His motion suggests an information campaign on Robert Clive and public meetings, to be followed by a referendum.

The petition to remove the statue and the motion will be debated at a meeting of the full council on 16 July.

Council leader Peter Nutting previously expressed support for an information board explaining Clive's place in history, but said the statue should not be removed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The statue has been in the spotlight since recent Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the death of American George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

Organisations, including universities, have been distancing themselves from many historical figures, sometimes renaming buildings associated with those connected with slavery.

In Bristol, protesters tore down a statue of Edward Colston.

Although not directly linked to slavery, Robert Clive is widely credited with engineering British colonial rule in India.

Looting was widespread at the time and while millions died in the Bengal Famine of 1770, Clive returned to Britain a wealthy man.

On Thursday, Newport Haberdashers' Adams School said it would be changing the name of Clive House.

It said while historians differed in their assessment of Clive, "nobody disputes that he behaved in ways that are now generally regarded as entirely unacceptable".