Voters in “Red Wall” seats will replace “people from metropolitan bubbles” on the boards of Britain's museums and heritage bodies to stop them bowing to pressure from “woke” activists over contested history. Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, said on Saturday that he wants people from the North and the Midlands to join the management of top cultural organisations and give them “the courage to stand up against the political fads and noisy movements of the moment”. Separately Robert Jenrick, the Communities Secretary, said he will amend regulations so that buildings used by the public have separate ladies and gents lavatories, in a blow for campaigners who want more gender-neutral facilities. In an article for The Telegraph, Mr Dowden said he will take “not a Maoist approach but a ‘moreist approach’ to our heritage”. He said: “I want more statues erected; more chapters added to our national
We won’t allow Britain’s history to be cancelled
I want to take not a Maoist but a “moreist approach” to heritage: I want more statues erected; more chapters added to our national narrative
15 May 2021 • 9:00pm
I am proud of our nation’s heritage. I don’t say this just as Culture Secretary, but as someone who happily spends their weekends exploring every part of it. I’m not alone in this passion. Our heritage unites us as a country, and draws visitors to our islands by the millions. And as someone whose love of heritage was learned, not inherited, I am deeply committed to ensuring it is available to everyone.