In October, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, announced £1 million worth of grants for activities including renaming streets in the capital.

The Labour-run Haringey Council in north London is changing the name of Black Boy Lane in the wake of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations. The change was approved with the support of two Lib Dem councillors and the road will become La Rose Lane, after the poet and activist John La Rose.

But the change is being made despite some residents voicing objections. Sharon David, 55, a black woman who has lived on Black Boy Lane for more than 40 years, said last year: “No one has said anything about the name before. Why all of a sudden now, because of the Black Lives Matter movement? Changing a street name is not the answer.”

In 2020, Tudor Evans, the then Labour leader of Plymouth City Council, announced plans to rename Sir John Hawkins Square, next to the city’s magistrates’ court, because of the naval commander’s involvement in the slave trade.

The Labour-run Lambeth Council has asked residents whether streets including Tulse Hill should be renamed. The road was named after Sir Henry Tulse, a former lord mayor of London, whom the council has pointed out derived “much of his wealth” from the slave trade. 

Sheffield Council also considered changing a number of street names but said that a consultation found that a majority of residents did not want any roads to be renamed.