Melanie Ward

I thank all the Members who contributed to this debate. The unified tone feels entirely in keeping with the fact that this is Armed Forces Week and with the message that we want to send out from this place this week in particular. It has been invaluable to hear the contributions of so many colleagues, and it is difficult to sum them up in such a short time. I will mention a few of the themes that people raised. My hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor) and a number of other colleagues raised the importance of peace and the fact that war memorials can give space for reflection on peace. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) was absolutely right when he said that the British in particular do remembrance so well. It is so important to take great care over something that matters so much. A number of colleagues talked about the importance of diversity and of remembering our diverse communities at our war memorials, including the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam), my hon. Friends the Members for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) and for Thurrock (Jen Craft) and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire). The Opposition spokesperson spoke powerfully about memorials to fallen British soldiers in the north of France. I have also had the experience of visiting some of those, and they are deeply moving in their scale when one actually sees them and sees the loss that took place. A number of colleagues, including my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett), spoke about the place of war memorials in remembering our shared history and the variety of memorials across the country. Others spoke about the importance of education in war memorials, including the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) and many others. I thank everyone and hope that it has been a rich debate for everyone to take part in.