Council rejects plans to erect Ali G statue in UK town

More than 300 people backed the proposal

The campaign was launched with the idea of turning the town’s long association with the fictional character into a potential attraction for visitors and a boost for local businesses.

More than 300 people signed the petition, allowing it to be discussed by a Spelthorne Borough Council committee.

Alex Balkan, who organised the petition, told the committee that the campaign wanted councillors to consider whether a temporary landmark could be created and whether the idea could contribute to the wider regeneration of Staines town centre.

Staines has had a complicated relationship with its association with Ali G for more than two decades.

The character was famously presented as a resident of the town in Baron Cohen’s work, including the 2002 film Ali G Indahouse.

In 2012, the town officially adopted the name Staines-upon-Thames, with the change widely understood to have been connected to efforts to distance the area from the negative image created by the fictional character.

Balkan told councillors that the same association could potentially be used to the town’s advantage today, particularly if it helped attract visitors and generate additional business for the high street.

“Beneath the humour is a serious question about our town centre. Can an association Staines already has, be turned into more visitors, more footfall and more spending?” he said.

“Ali G hurt their feelings”

Spelthorne Borough Council said the petition had been properly considered by councillors during Tuesday’s meeting, where the committee ultimately decided not to take the proposed attraction forward at this stage.

A council spokesperson said members recognised that the authority had other areas that required its attention and that resources needed to be directed towards those priorities.

They said the council needed to focus “particularly [on] protecting and delivering essential local services and preparing for the ongoing local government reorganisation”.

Balkan criticised the decision after the vote, arguing that councillors had failed to properly consider the potential economic benefits the proposal could have brought to local businesses and the town centre.

“What's clear is that no matter how strong the economic case, no matter how many local businesses supported it, none of that mattered to the majority of councillors - Ali G hurt their feelings,” he said.

Although the proposal was rejected, Balkan said he remained hopeful that the campaign could help encourage other ideas focused on attracting visitors and supporting businesses in the town centre.