HC Deb 21 April 1947 vol 436 cc598-600

The following Question stood upon the Order Paper in the name of Mr. WILSON HARRIS:

41. To ask the Minister of Works whether he will cause a statue of Queen Elizabeth to be erected in the vicinity of Whitehall.

Mr. Wilson Harris

May I say, Mr. Speaker, to avoid ambiguity, that the Question I put down on the Paper specified Queen Elizabeth Tudor?

Mr. Key

The answer to the Question is, "No, Sir."

Mr. Harris

The right hon. Gentleman is very difficult. Is he aware that this lady could make a good claim for being regarded as the greatest Sovereign this country has ever known? Is he aware that a Committee of both Houses, of which Lord Macaulay was a member, recommended that a statue be erected in these precincts; and that there exist today, as there did not in Lord Macaulay's time, several hon. Members of this House who would serve admirably as models for such a statue?

Mr. Key

That is a matter of opinion. As far as I can see, there are other more notable omissions than Queen Elizabeth.

Mr. Gallacher

Should not this question be addressed to Madame Tussaud?

Sir William Darling

Will the right hon. Gentleman take into consideration the successor of Queen Elizabeth, King James the Sixth of Scotland and First of England?

Mr. Key

If my memory serves me right, I said "No, Sir" to that Question some time ago.

42. Mr. Wilson Harris

asked the Minister of Works when the statue of General Gordon will be replaced in Trafalgar Square; and whether he has any further information regarding the statue of King Charles I.

Mr. Key

The repairs to the statue of King Charles I have been completed and the statue will be restored to its pedestal in the course of the next few weeks. A decision about the statue of General Gordon will be reached shortly.

Mr. Harris

Does the right hon. Gentleman mean that there is some doubt about it, and does he realise the possible political consequences of preferring to put the first British Governor-General of the Sudan under a bushel instead of in a candlestick?

Mr. Gallacher

Will his head be on or off?