Over a century ago, Britain was seen as the place to be. It pioneered science, including medicine. It built industries such as railroads, major bridges and created a strong middle class. And despite what some would say, it was the only major empire that abolished slavery and policed the oceans, at its own considerable expense, to make sure other countries didnt enslave people. And it had the largest Navy in the World. Now, many say that all seems like a distant memory.
The latest controversy involves images or statues of some of most lauded people. The face of Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister during WWII, is being removed from the five-pound note by the Bank of England. The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the decision “absolutely crackers,” noting the proposal was to replace Churchill and others with a picture of a beaver.Â
Churchills statue in Westminster was vandalized in 2020 and again last month. Churchill led the defense of Britain, which was the only country in Europe that didnt fall during WWII.Â
“Decades of woke education policy have taught people to deny and decry the history of this country as it is deemed to be oppressive, racist and unfair,” Alan Mendoza, founder and executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital. He says the teaching labor unions controlled by the hard left have enforced their agenda on generations of pupils. “It is no surprise, therefore, that at least some of their victims have imbibed this philosophy and are acting on it.”
who lived centuries ago have been targeted to be pulled down and then destroyed. Some of these efforts have been successful. Some have not. William Gladstone, Robert Peel, James Cook, and Francis Drake were targeted for destruction by activists, according to Sky News. These men were, respectively, a reformist prime minister, the founder of the police force, a naval explorer and a privateer. Luckily, their statues remain largely intact.
Now William Shakespeare is under attack. Apparently, being white is a bad thing, and some say the Bard was really a black woman. The activist summary is that Shakespeare might be used to advocate white nationalism.
These attempts to erase high-achieving Brits from history might appear trivial, Matt Goodwin, a GB News Presenter, wrote on X. “It matters far more than many people realize,” he wrote. “Across the Western World, an assortment of [DEI] bureaucrats, radical activists, and increasingly compliant public institutions are engaged in a cultural project that seeks to delegitimize our national.”
Its not just statues and images that have been targeted. Flying your own countrys flag can get you in trouble. Left-wingers in Britain, such as Labour Party supporters, often view the Union Flag, or Englands George Cross, as racist or anti-immigration.
“So strong has become the voice of DEI and immigrants that any sign of a proud U.K. gets denounced,” Ben Habib, founder of the Advance UK political party, told Fox News Digital. “DEI cannot bear strong nations – it wants them set aside so minorities feel at “home”.Â
Habib also notes theres an added complication with the – they both represent Christian Saints. “That is offensive to the growing numbers practicing foreign religions in the U.K.,” he told Fox News Digital.
Much of this flag-hating began following the invasion of Israel by Hamas, an Iran-backed terrorist organization. The U.K. then witnessed a surge in Palestinian flags flying on public buildings. This upset more than a few British patriots, who then stepped out with the British flags. “We need to start cohering around national stories and symbols, and the flag is the most visual way of doing that,” says Colin Brazier, a British culture commentator had previously told Fox News Digital.
Planning authorities, usually the local U.K. councils, do not need to grant permission for people to fly either the Union Flag or the George Cross.
