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Labour MP Diane Abbott’s name is among the suggestions to rebrand Gladstone Park following a slavery review by its Labour-run council. The park in Dollis Hill was named after the former Liberal prime minister William Gladstone in 1899.
The park’s name may be changed after a local-government-led review of historical slavery practices discussed links between the Gladstone family and the transatlantic slave trade. Brent council asked schoolchildren aged five to 13 to come up with a shortlist of ideas for a new name, and the Hackney North and Stoke Newington Labour MP Diane Abbott’s name is on the list of suggestions.
Dr Inge Dornan of Brunel University told the Evening Standard: ‘Brent residents have asked the council to consider renaming Gladstone Park. This is because the Gladstone family were involved historically in the transatlantic slave trade.’
The aim of the project is to address ‘injustice, prejudice and racism’ in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, according to Dr Dornan.
Abbott was the first Black woman elected to parliament and is the longest-serving Black MP – she’s been in the House of Commons for 35 years. From 2016 to 2020, she served in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet as shadow home secretary and has campaigned against racial inequality throughout her career.
As well as ‘Diane Abbott Park’, other suggestions for new names for Gladstone Park include ‘Diversity Fields’ and ‘Multi-faith Park’. No decision has been made yet.
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