In the increasingly polarised society in which we live, it’s easy to see something really shocking and to conclude, “That’s got to be fake. It must be fake news put out by the far-right/far-left.”
Such was my reaction upon reading that Parliament will be replacing a portrait of Lord Nelson with one of the current Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper. It’s got to be a troll. It is however completely true.
As part of an effort by Parliament to make its artwork more diverse, national heroes like Nelson are out and mid-level politicians are in.
Nelson’s famous victory at Trafalgar, in which he died for his country, was apparently outweighed by the fact that he was a straight white man and may have been a supporter of slavery.
Oliver Cromwell’s portraits have also received similar treatment for similar reasons.
Yvette Cooper, unsurprisingly, is in favour of the changes. Last year she said, “Westminster is a changing place, with more women MPs, people from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
“It would be great to see this change increasingly represented in the artwork around the estate, providing encouragement and inspiration for future generations of politicians.”
What she has completely failed to realise is that Parliament and other British institutions are not about her.
The reason portraits of Nelson, Cromwell and other such characters were there in the first place is to remind the people there that they are part of a long history. It is to remind them of the glories that can be achieved - often against great odds - and the struggles that are often endured along the way. They are not for one's personal validation.
Personally, I’m not a great fan of Oliver Cromwell for all sorts of reasons. Yet I don’t begrudge him his place in the pantheon of British historical figures. A portrait or a statue is not an endorsement of every action taken or statement uttered by a person, but it is recognition of some great service or significance to the nation’s history.
Parliament’s portraits should say something more than just “Yvette Cooper woz ‘ere, 2025.”
