Labour has become embroiled in a major Remembrance Sunday dispute over Brexit after connecting the commemoration of the nation’s war dead with Andy Burnham’s plans to reset relations with the EU.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was accused of exploiting the commemorations after her department compared the Erasmus+ student exchange programme with “the strong links with Europe that veterans’ service helped to secure” following the Second World War.
The comments came ahead of solemn ceremonies at the Cenotaph in London and elsewhere across Britain and the Commonwealth, prompting claims that Ms Nandy was using Remembrance events to promote an anti-Brexit message.
Tory chairman Kevin 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.”
However, during a series of media interviews, Ms Nandy made the striking claim that her critics were “politicising” a day that should 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.”
Lisa Nandy was accused of exploiting the commemorations after her department compared the Erasmus+ student exchange scheme with “the strong links with Europe that veterans’ service helped to secure”
The comments came before solemn events at the Cenotaph in London and across Britain and the Commonwealth, prompting claims that the commemorations were being used for anti-Brexit propaganda
In a statement issued late last night for publication today, Ms Nandy said the Erasmus+ student exchange programme, 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 dispute comes amid separate concerns that Andy Burnham’s proposed Brexit reset could result in up to one million people aged between 18 and 30 entering the British jobs market.
Ms Nandy also referred to “80 years of peace” in her statement, a phrase Mr Hollinrake criticised for failing to acknowledge more recent conflicts in which British troops lost their lives.
He said: “Lisa Nandy seems to be saying that no one in our country has had to fight a war since 1945.
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“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.
“Using their sacrifice to clear a £570 million cheque to Brussels is tone deaf and frankly shameful. Lisa Nandy should apologise.”
Separately, Mr Burnham is facing opposition within the Cabinet over plans to negotiate a reciprocal youth mobility scheme with the EU, amid ministerial concerns that it could put further pressure on the British jobs market.
With a summit scheduled for November 20, UK and EU negotiators are still working to finalise the scheme. It would allow people under 30 to live, work, study and travel for a limited period on either side of the Channel.
Senior ministers are understood to have warned that the proposals could be electorally damaging while the Government is attempting to reduce youth unemployment and move more young people off benefits.
Mr Burnham said last week that he wanted “radical change” to address the “million or more young people in their 20s on benefits”, adding: “It’s not good for them. It’s not good for anybody.”
But one minister told the MoS: “This isn’t joined-up government. On the one hand we’re pledging to get a million young people off welfare and back into work. But at the same time we’re proposing to let a million young people from Europe enter the UK to directly compete with them for jobs.”
The EU is seeking assurances that university fees for European students will be set below the international rate of £38,000 a year. In exchange, the UK has attempted to impose an annual limit on the number of EU young people allowed to enter Britain.
The Brussels summit is also expected to approve agreements covering food and drink, reducing bureaucracy while requiring the UK to accept EU rules. A separate carbon-emissions deal would connect the UK and EU emissions-trading systems, meaning Britain would no longer face EU carbon taxes.
Mr Burnham said his summit with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen could open a “dialogue” about the UK’s future relationship with Europe. He has not ruled out the possibility of Britain eventually rejoining the EU.
Last month, Mr Burnham 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.”
The ministerial backlash comes as concerns grow within the Cabinet that Mr Burnham’s approach to the EU is distracting from the Government’s central priorities.
Another minister said: “Look at last week. The message discipline was awful. The focus should have solely been on the Budget. But No 10 were jabbering on about Brexit and slavery reparations.”
