Labour has been drawn into a Remembrance Sunday row over Brexit after Lisa Nandy’s department linked the UK’s return to the Erasmus+ student exchange scheme with the European connections secured by veterans’ service.
The Culture Secretary was accused of using the commemorations to promote the Government’s Brexit reset, after her department said the programme would help young people build “the strong links with Europe that veterans’ service helped to secure and endure after the Second World War”.
The statement was issued ahead of services at the Cenotaph in London and across Britain and the Commonwealth, prompting a backlash from the Conservatives.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory chairman, 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.”
But Ms Nandy rejected the criticism, accusing her opponents of politicising a day intended to remain above party politics.
“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.”
In a statement issued late on Saturday, Ms Nandy said Erasmus+ would “give a new generation the chance to build connections across Europe”. The UK has rejoined the exchange scheme under Labour.
She also referred to “80 years of peace”, a phrase Mr Hollinrake criticised for failing to recognise more recent conflicts involving British forces.
“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.”
Mr Hollinrake added: “Using their sacrifice to clear a £570 million cheque to Brussels is tone deaf and frankly shameful. Lisa Nandy should apologise.”
Cabinet concerns over Brexit reset
The dispute comes as Andy Burnham faces opposition within the Cabinet to plans for a reciprocal youth mobility arrangement with the European Union.
Negotiators are seeking agreement ahead of a summit on November 20 on a scheme that would allow under-30s to live, work, study and travel on both sides of the Channel for a period.
Some ministers are understood to fear the proposal could be politically damaging while the Government is trying to tackle youth unemployment and reduce the number of young people claiming benefits.
One minister said the policy was not joined-up, arguing that the Government was seeking to move a million young people from welfare into work while potentially allowing a similar number of young Europeans to enter the UK and compete for jobs.
The EU is also seeking lower university fees for European students than the international rate of £38,000 a year. In return, the UK has attempted to secure an annual limit on the number of EU young people entering Britain.
Mr Burnham has said the summit could open a dialogue about the UK’s longer-term relationship with Europe and has not ruled out eventual re-entry to the EU. His stance has prompted growing concern among ministers that the Brexit reset is distracting from Labour’s central agenda.
