Conservative Councillor for Bishopsworth, Bristol, Richard Eddy, in response to the removal of the statue of notorious slave  trader Edward Colston stated:

"Edward Colston to me and generations of Bristolians stands out as a hero whose wealth has continued to benefit the housing, education and healthcare of the citizens of this city."

Edward Colston was NO hero. Yes, he was philanthropic, using his wealth for charitable causes, but vast amounts of his wealth was earned from enslavement of hundreds of thousands of people from the African continent in the transatlantic slave trade. He sanctioned horrific violence, torture, and murder upon innocent people including women and children, and the deaths of 19,000 people in transit across the Atlantic due to the awful conditions. These were undoubtedly crimes against humanity and his character cannot be redeemed by any amount of charitable giving. 

Councillor Eddy already has had some very troubling associations with racial equality in the past. From The Metro, published 9/6/2020, "in 2001, Mr Eddy resigned as deputy leader of the council’s conservative group after adopting a golliwog as a mascot and facing criticism from racial equality groups and his own party."

Councillor Eddy's glorification of a murderous slave trader in this way calls into question his judgement and his values. In a modern, multicultural, liberal democracy nobody holding such views should have a place in any major political party, let alone a leading role in local politics

We the undersigned call on Prime Minsiter Boris Johnson, leader of the Conservative Party to condemn Councillor Eddy's comments and remove Councillor Eddy from the Conservative Party with immediate effect.