Starmerbacksmemorial
VSIR KEIR STARMER has said it is “vital” that the UK remembers and educates about the Holocaust through the proposed Memorial and Learning Centre in Westminster.
The Labour leader emphasised the national importance of the project on Wednesday at a meeting with the co-chairs of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, Ed Balls and Lord Eric Pickles.
Sir Keir told the JC it was “disappointing” that nearly two years after a planning application was submitted for the project in Victoria Tower Gardens, next to Parliament, permission for the Memorial and Learning Centre has still not been granted.
Throwing his “wholehearted support” behind the proposal, estimated to be costing £100 million, Sir Keir said: “It is vital for our nation that we commemorate the six million Jewish men, woman and children murdered during the Holocaust. It is more important than ever that we educate current and future generations of the horrors of genocide and persecution.
“The fight against intolerance and prejudice in our society, and the stain of antisemitism, goes on. So I offer my wholehearted support to the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre and its placement next to the heart of our democracy. “
The Labour leader’s intervention follows support for the Westminster Memorial from former Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair as well as Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Sir Keir said: “It is disappointing that, despite almost two years passing since the planning application was submitted, permission for the project has still not been granted. I urge the Planning Inspector to recognise the national significance of this project, as a reminder of what can occur when hatred takes hold in society.”
Former Conservative PM David Cameron pledged to have a Holocaust memorial in central London in 2015. Theresa May and Boris Johnson have both both backed the plan.