American War of Independence: Semiquincentennial Commemorations

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

The noble and learned Baroness makes an extremely important point. Of course, the American Bar Association has been a proud supporter of things such as the Runnymede Trust for many years, and I commend it for its efforts. Absolutely—this should be widely spread. The ties are not just governmental but are between people as well, and we should celebrate that fact too.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, in our commemoration of the centenary of World War I, we put a great deal of effort into the reconciliation between ourselves and our enemy Germany. As we look at commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American war of independence, could we put the same amount of effort into what was our other main enemy in that war, which was of course France? The battles of Chesapeake Bay and of Yorktown were basically Franco-British as much as a war of independence with the United States. If I were American, I would certainly want to mark the role of France as a key ally in America’s war of independence. May I suggest that some discreet conversations with Paris about how we approach this sesquiquincentennial might be appropriate?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

To help the noble Lord, it is semiquincentennial—I have said it quite a lot over the last few days.

I do not know—I like the idea, which is a good one. Perhaps we could offer to paint the Statue of Liberty, for example, as an act of reconciliation. I cannot speculate as to what conversations will be held with France, but of course we should be celebrating all our alliances.