Lord Stirrup
Main Page: Lord Stirrup (Crossbench - Life peer)
Lord Stirrup (CB)
My Lords, I welcome the Statement, but one of my regrets about the commemoration of the centenary of the First World War was the lack of focus on the immediate post-war period and the political and diplomatic failures that set the conditions for the later, even more damaging, conflict. This is in direct contrast to what happened in 1945, when it was recognised that enduring peace is not a natural or spontaneous phenomenon but requires sustained international commitment, co-operation and effort. That message is surely as relevant today as it has ever been, so can the Minister reflect on how that particular theme might be woven into this year’s commemorations, particularly with regard to education?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
The noble and gallant Lord makes a really important point. The first part of that discussion will be on the point that only by learning about our past and seeing how it relates to our present will we genuinely pay tribute to those who died and made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. The schoolwork will play a particular role in that. All of us are mindful of the very fragile place the world is in—it is even more fragile than a year ago—so that very present understanding of how we need to work together across national borders to secure peace, and the recognition that we cannot take it for granted, have to run through our commemoration of these events.