Mayoral Candidate Promises To Fill London With Statues Of David Bowie And David Beckham

Labour MP David Lammy, a mayoral candidate, has made a strange campaign promise: if he is elected as the Mayor of London, the MP will fill the city with statues of celebrity figures such as Adele, David Bowie, and David Beckham, that Lammy considers will be inspirational for the city’s populous – the Evening Standard reports.

In a speech given yesterday at Goldsmiths University, considered one of London’s top art schools, the Tottenham MP said: “Walk through Central London and you’ll pass statue after statue celebrating iconic Londoners” Lammy went on to make an a impassioned case for celebrating figures from London’s contemporary pop culture: “For example, Adele is an inspiration to people in my constituency of how, with hard work and determination, they can succeed in the arts.”

“The time has come to recognise that there are living heroes,” Lammy added.

The proposal could mean a statue of David Beckham in Leytonstone, Vidal Sassoon could spring up in Hammersmith, or a even a statue of Lennox Lewis could appear in West Ham, and brings to mind the craze to create monuments dedicated to pop-cultural icons that spread across the former Yugoslavia.

Mr Lammy, is currently the only MP to declare a desire to be Labour’s mayoral candidate, The labour MP also stated that he considered the capital’s cultural sector was still inaccessible for Londoners from deprived backgrounds.

The MP told the Evening Standard: “People come from around the world to visit our theatres, museums and galleries – but these are the exact same institutions that thousands of Londoners are being priced out of.”

Mr Lammy went on to highlight statistics showing Londoners from poorer backgrounds were less likely to have visited culture institutions than their wealthier peers in the last twelve months.

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