London Socialist Historians Group
20th October
Contact LSHG Convenor Dr Keith Flett 07803 167266
After Jenrick calls for Downing St portraits to ‘extoll great figures in English history’ historians suggest black Chartist leader William Cuffay
The London Socialist Historians Group, which organises the socialist history seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, has said that in Black History Month, it would be timely to display a portrait of the black Chartist leader William Cuffay (1788-1870) at 10 Downing St
Contender for the Tory leadership Robert Jenrick has been reported in the Daily Telegraph as complaining that Keir Starmer has been re-arranging the paintings at 10 Downing St. A portrait of Margaret Thatcher has been moved, and so have those depicting Walter Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth 1st and Shakespeare
Jenrick is quoted as saying “We should celebrate and extol great figures in English history and stop being embarrassed by our identity. No other country would behave like this.”.
The socialist historians agree and a good portrait would be that of William Cuffay the black leader of London Chartism in 1848. Cuffay was at the centre of the fight for the vote and Parliamentary Democracy. He was transported to Tasmania for his alleged role in a rising in central London in August 1848 but continued as a labour organiser in Hobart until his death in 1870
LSHG Convenor Dr Keith Flett said, we appreciate that the portraits in Downing St come from the Government Art Collection which is unlikely to have procured one of Cuffay. However good drawings of him have survived and one could surely quite easily be done
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