Politicians Protest Trafalgar Face Lift

British opposition politicians protested Friday over government plans to close London’s Trafalgar Square to public meetings for the next two years while it undergoes a major renovation.

Plans for a $2.3 million face lift for the square--completed in 1867 to commemorate the 1805 sea victory off Spain’s Cape Trafalgar against a Franco-Spanish force--were announced last July.

The square, centered around a tall column with a statue of Adm. Horatio Nelson, who led the British fleet and was fatally wounded in the battle, is often used for political rallies. Labor member of Parliament Bruce George called the move a “profound setback for those who want to express political views.”