The UK government will enact new laws to protect statues in England from attacks by “woke militants” who want to censor the nation’s past, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said on Sunday. “We cannot—and should not—try to edit or censor our past,” he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph. “Any decisions to remove these heritage assets will require planning permission and councils will need to do so in accordance with their constitution, after consultation with the local community.” “Local people should have the chance to be consulted whether a monument should stand or not,” he said. “What has stood for generations should be considered thoughtfully, not removed on a whim or at the behest of a baying mob.” Jenrick said that details of the new legislation will be set out in Parliament on Monday. The issue of how Britain should deal with the legacies of its past, especially its role in slavery and …