And Serve Them Right

[poliphilo]

A statue of Mrs Thatcher has been in the news. It's the one that had its block knocked off. The owners got it repaired and put it into storage at the House of Commons. According to a story that made the media last week it had been offered to the town of Grantham and Grantham had turned it down. Later it was announced- from Grantham- that none of this had ever actually happened and the guy who leaked the story has been suspended from office- so who knows?

Once upon a time PMs got public statues as a matter of course. If Maggie had been a Victorian there'd be likenesses of her all over the place. In fact you didn't have to be anything as special as a PM or a member of the cabinet for your borough to see to it that you were remembered for ever. All you had to do was get yourself elected. Our local park has two statues of Victorian politicians- grandiose affairs on high plinths. One of them is a chap called Platt and the other- no- I forget- I'd have to go and look. They used to stand in the town itself but presumably got in the way of traffic. Neither of the great originals was ever anything more than a footnote to a footnote.

These days, forget it. You may have bestrid the world like a colossus in life but are most unlikely to do so in death.  I did a little research to see who among our post-war PMs merits a public statue and the answer seems to be Churchill (of course- but not because his administration in the 50s is fondly remembered) Clem Atlee, Harold Wilson and nobody else. Winnie is everywhere, Clem in Tower Hamlets, Harold (vigorously striding away from the Town Hall) in Huddersfield. I can imagine some brave soul somewhere may eventually put up a statue to Mrs T (on a very high plinth with spiked railings round it to protect its coiffeured bonce) but I don't suppose any of the other candidates stands a chance. Who among them- if not hated and despised- is anything more than a figure of fun?  Who is going to work up the enthusiasm for a Harold Macmillan in bronze or a Ted Heath in everlasting marble?  Who even remembers Alec Douglas-Home? And who in their right mind is going to suggest that a grateful nation should memorialize Tony Blair?

Comments

[charliemc.livejournal.com]

Whatever we might think of Mrs. Thatcher's politics, she did what other women around the world seem unable to do: She got elected to the highest electoral position in her nation. And look WHEN she did it! We're still not there in the United States, decades later...

I think it's fascinating, though -- exactly as you say: They all USED to get statues (no matter how mundane), but now they don't. Interesting. I wonder if we're just not as into statues now as in prior periods of history (???). It makes you wonder how different our world would be without so many statues from the past that we're used to having...

Interesting blog entry! (And I've got that image of Mrs. T. on top of a plinth with the spikes to keep people from climbing in my head right now. Hahahahahaha.)

(hugs)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We still erect statues but they're not of politicians; they're of footballers, entertainers, people the Victorians wouldn't have dreamed of memorializing.

There's a statue- rather a lively one- of Billy Fury on Liverpool's Albert Docks. Fury was a very minor British rock 'n'roller.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

As the granddaughter of colliers and a socialist and union activist you can imagine what I think of Thatcher. I'd have loved to have been the one doing the vandalising in that case!

Charles Dickens still doesn't have a statue in my home town of Rochester which I consider and appalling oversight as they owe their present day tourist industry to him. Mind you, nor does Richard Dadd although that might be a little more understandable!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, but Dickens stipulated in his will that he didn't want a statue or any other kind of memorial. Rochester is merely respecting his wishes.

I've just done some research. There are several Dickens statues abroad but none in the UK- as yet- though Portsmouth is hoping to erect one.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

He also stipulated that he wanted to be buried in the old cemetery in the dry mote of Rochester castle and that didn't happen either. He's said to haunt it, which tells you all you need to know about Poets' Corner as his last resting place.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Westminster Abbey treats great writers like Pokemon cards. It wants the full set.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

The worst example of all is poor Thomas Hardy, a non believer who made it plain he did not want to fetch up in Westminster Abbey but in Stinsford churchyard so they did that horrible compromise of burying his heart at Stinsford.

If I were he, I'd certainly be haunting somewhere!

Thankfully, Orkney managed to keep Edwin Muir.