The Culture Secretary has been accused by the Conservatives of using commemorations to make a case for closer EU ties. She has rejected the criticism, saying it is her critics who are politicising the day.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is at the centre of a political row on Remembrance Sunday after her department linked the return of the Erasmus+ student exchange scheme to the legacy of Britain’s war veterans. Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake accused her of making an “EU membership pitch” on a day meant for national unity. Ms Nandy told Sky News the criticism was itself an act of politicking. The row comes ahead of a UK-EU summit later this month.
The department’s statement
In a statement issued the night before the commemorations, Ms Nandy said Erasmus+, which the UK has rejoined under Labour, would “give a new generation the chance to build connections across Europe”. Her department added: “As the nation pauses today to remember those who served and sacrificed, [the programme] will help young people from every background and region build the strong links with Europe that veterans’ service helped to secure and endure after the Second World War.”
The statement also referred to “80 years of peace”. The remarks came ahead of ceremonies at the Cenotaph in London and across Britain and the Commonwealth.
Conservative criticism
Mr Hollinrake said: “Remembrance Sunday is a day for the nation to stand together in silence and honour those who gave everything for our country. It is not a day for a Labour minister to try to make an EU membership pitch.”
He also took issue with the reference to 80 years of peace. “Lisa Nandy seems to be saying that no one in our country has had to fight a war since 1945,” he said. “Tell that to the veterans of Korea, the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, and to the families of the hundreds who never came home. Our veterans did not fight for a student exchange scheme.”
He added that using their sacrifice “to clear a £570 million cheque to Brussels is tone deaf and frankly shameful”, and said Ms Nandy should apologise.
Nandy’s response
In a round of interviews on Sunday, Ms Nandy rejected the criticism. “I strongly, strongly disagree and it’s Remembrance Sunday,” she told Sky News. “It’s not a time for politicking. And I’m actually kind of quite horrified that the chairman of the Conservative Party has chosen to do that. He, they, are the only party that is talking about Brexit and the European Union today.”
The UK-EU summit
UK and EU negotiators are working on the details of a two-way youth mobility scheme ahead of a summit on 20 November. Under it, under-30s would be able to live, work, study and travel for a period on both sides of the Channel.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the summit with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen could set up a “dialogue” on the UK’s future relationship with Europe. He has not ruled out Britain eventually rejoining the EU. Last month he told the Commons: “On the table is a trade deal on food and drink products, a deal on emissions trading, progress towards linking our energy systems, a new youth experience scheme and deeper cooperation on immigration.”
