Welsh government announce audit of statues, street names and building names

The leader of the Welsh government has announced an “urgent audit” of statues, street names, and building names “to address Wales’s connections with the slave trade”. 

The review will be led by Gaynor Legall, “a powerful advocate for ethnic minority women across Wales”, who will select her team from those with knowledge of the slave trade, the British empire, and the “history of black communities in Wales”.

Mark Drakeford, the leader of the Labour Party in Wales, said that the Black Lives Matter movement had forced the country to reconsider the names of buildings and monuments to historical figures who may have been connected to the slave trade, which the left-wing politician said were “not fully challenged and that we should challenge now”.

“We can reflect a Wales that rightfully celebrates our diverse communities,” Drakeford said.

He added that a group of “young people and communities” will be consulted about the audit before the regional parliament decides what to do about the monuments and street and building names.

Drakesford appears to have followed in the footsteps of his national party colleague Sadiq Khan, Labour’s mayor of London, who announced a review of all the landmarks last month.