This statue of Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst, erected by her admiring and loving followers, will remain THE memorial to her at Westminster.
I reported on 15 September the very welcome news that, as a result of a vigorous public protest, Sir Neil Thorne and the Emmeline Pankhurst Trust had withdrawn the planning applications they had made to Westminster Council to remove the existing statue of Emmeline Pankhurst and resite it in Regent’s Park.
They had made these applications in order to make way for a new statue of Mrs Pankhurst that they had commissioned, for reasons that are not entirely clear, and intended to place on Canning Green to the west of Parliament Square.
The planning application came up for consideration at a meeting held on 2 October 2018, the minutes of which were issued on 15 October 2018. Perhaps unsurprisingly the decision was:
That the application be refused on the grounds that it is contrary to the Council’s Saturation policy for the reasons set out on page 18 of the agenda and due to the presence of a second statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in the vicinity.
You can read the minuted report here – https://tinyurl.com/yahasea2.
I won’t begin to wonder how much money and time has been spent on this project – or why. You may each have your own views.
The result seems to be a victory for both historical – and common – sense.
Woman and her Sphere 
#1 by Jane Kirby on October 22, 2018 - 9:18 am
Well done for initiating the campaign to object. It seems to have been a close call at the end. I haven’t delved through the paperwork yet to see who the Lords were who supported the application, in the face of such widely-publicised objections.
#2 by Irene Cockroft on October 22, 2018 - 2:42 pm
Dear Elizabeth
THANK YOU for your thorough coverage of this extraordinary application. Your time-consuming delving on behalf of all is greatly appreciated. As you say, I wonât begin to wonder how much money and time has been spent on this project – or why. The âwhyâ question mark remains suspended in the ether. I wonder if there shall ever be a public answer?
The result, as you also say, seems indeed to be a victory for both historical – and common â sense, to which you have contributed enormously.
With kindest regards from Irene
#3 by COLINDB on October 25, 2018 - 12:00 pm
Dear Elizabeth,
Following your early flagging up of this proposal, like many I put objects to each of the three proposals. In summary the grounds given are the present figure and contextual siting link to Cristabel Pankhurst and an assembly place, traffic free, adjoining the park area for larger groups too. Appropriate for occasions and a place much celebrated too. Thank you for doing so.