- Published
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has rejected accusations of politicising Remembrance Sunday after being criticised for linking the event to the UK rejoining the European Union's Erasmus scheme.
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UK → publish → scheme
Her department announced on Saturday night that "as we mark Remembrance Sunday, Erasmus+ will give a new generation the chance to build connections across Europe".
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Erasmus+ → announce → Europe
That sparked a backlash from the Conservatives, who said "veterans did not fight for a student exchange scheme" and accused her of making an "EU membership pitch".
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veterans → spark → pitch
Nandy said she was "horrified" by the Tory response and insisted that the expanded EU scheme for study and work would help young Britons recognise wartime sacrifice.
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Britons → say → sacrifice
The UK is rejoining the scheme in January, six years after leaving it as part of the Brexit deal.
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UK → rejoin → deal
On Saturday, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport drew comparisons between that scheme and events on Sunday to commemorate veterans who had died in conflict.
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who → draw → conflict
Referring to the scheme, Nandy said in her department's press release: "As we remember the immense courage of those who served our country, we honour them by building the best opportunities for the next generation through closeness and collaboration with our allies."
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we → refer → allies
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake described her comments as "tone deaf and frankly shameful" and called on Nandy to apologise.
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Hollinrake → describe → Nandy
He said the bonds that veterans forged "run far deeper" than Erasmus.
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veterans → say → Erasmus
"It is not a day for a Labour minister to try to make an EU membership pitch," he added.
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he → try → pitch
Reform leader Nigel Farage told the BBC: "For Lisa Nandy to use Remembrance Sunday to announce this and say it's all about peace, it's all about the war - I find that very, very poor taste."
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I → tell → war
Peter Sharples, chief executive of the Veterans Institute, told the Telegraph that people should "just honour the fallen" on Remembrance Sunday rather than discussing "party political matters".
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people → tell → matters
Asked about the criticism on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Nandy stood by her initial remarks.
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Nandy → ask → remarks
"It was Winston Churchill after the Second World War who talked about extending the hand of friendship across Europe and making sure that we honoured the legacy of that generation," she said.
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she → talk → generation
She said that after Brexit "we closed off opportunities for young people from this country to understand not just the impact that generation made here in the UK, but the way in which they went off and fought for the freedom of people across Europe".
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they → say → Europe
Asked to respond to accusations she had chosen Remembrance Sunday to "promote part of the new deal the government has done with the EU", Nandy said she was "not choosing today or any day actually to promote a deal with the EU".
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she → ask → EU
Pressed about linking the day to what the government believes are the cultural benefits of the scheme, Nandy said: "There was a time where that wouldn't have even raised an eyebrow as somehow political, it was just common sense - and it is common sense."
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it → press → eyebrow
Erasmus applications to open
The UK is paying £570m to join the expanded Erasmus+ scheme, external, which the government said was a 30% discount.
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government → open → scheme
It will include free year-abroad placements for UK university students and their European peers as well as cultural exchanges.
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It → include → students
The government said free train passes would be available for 18-year-olds to visit EU countries by themselves or with up to five friends.
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olds → say → friends
Youth groups will also get to do short exchanges in other countries, with a focus on areas of the country less engaged by Erasmus previously such as the north of England and Midlands, the government said.
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government → get → England
Applications will open for Erasmus+ later this month.
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Applications → open → Erasmus+
Farage described Erasmus as a "terrible scheme" and "wildly expensive" compared to the Turing Scheme, which ministers introduced in 2021 as a post-Brexit alternative.
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ministers → describe → alternative
He also criticised ongoing negotiations between the UK and the EU for a new youth mobility scheme ahead of a major summit on 20 November.
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He → criticise → November
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he wants an "honest discussion" about the prospect of returning to free movement between the UK and EU.
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he → say → UK
But the EU's former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has warned that the UK cannot "cherry pick" which elements of the single market to which it subscribes.
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it → warn → which
Nandy said on Sunday that most of the benefits of Brexit promised in 2016 "have not been realised" and "there are trade-offs and choices to be made" on Britain's future relationship with the EU.
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most → say → EU
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