Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)

My Lords, as ever on these occasions I am struck by the depth, dignity and sincerity of the contributions we have heard. I am not sure I can do justice to every powerful point made today, but I will do my best. I start by congratulating the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry on her excellent maiden speech and welcome her to the House. She reminded us of the way Coventry is linking its devastation in the Second World War and the hatred that led to that with the importance of speaking to our young people about peacebuilding and reconciliation. I am grateful to her for her words and hope she enjoys her time here in this House. This debate is one that year after year brings out the very best in our House. It reminds us not only of the weight of our shared responsibility but of the compassion and the urge for moral clarity that unites us. We come together in remembrance of 6 million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust—as well as thousands of Roma, Sinti, disabled people, gay men, political opponents, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the victims of genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and Srebrenica. Their memories guide us, challenge us and call us to account. I particularly thank those noble Lords who have given their own personal testimony from themselves or their families today—the noble Lords, Lord Austin, Lord Evans and Lord Shinkwin, the noble Baroness, Lady Ramsey, and the noble Lord, Lord Howard—and I am particularly grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, for her tribute to Harry Olmer. The noble Baroness, Lady Ramsey, asked us in a quote, “Do you think all this is better forgotten”? I hope the fact that we are debating this today means that none of us thinks that at all. At this point I pay tribute to Stevenage Liberal Synagogue, particularly to Terry and Gillian Wolfe and Rabbi Danny Rich, who have supported me in my attempts to continue to educate myself about the Jewish faith and the life of Jews in Britain today. The noble Baroness, Lady Scott, spoke about the Torah. It was an absolute marvel to me to watch Danny Rich pick up the Torah, which, in case people have not seen it, is the scroll that is unrolled in a synagogue. There is no punctuation and there are no spaces in it, and he explained to me how he navigates his way around that Torah. It has been a real education to me, and I am grateful to them for all of that. A number of noble Lords, starting with the noble Lord, Lord Pickles, spoke very powerfully about the continuing scourge of antisemitism. The noble Lord, Lord Massey, reminded us of what an ancient hatred that is, but, of course, with a current and very present shadow that hangs over us all. Antisemitism is completely abhorrent and has no place in our society, which is why we must all take a strong lead on tackling it in all its forms. Sadly, we have seen how events in the Middle East are used as an excuse to stir up hatred against British Jewish communities. The horrific terrorist attack on Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, mentioned by many noble Lords this afternoon, was an attack on the British values that unite us all. We stand together with British Jews and with all Jewish people. We condemn unequivocally the hatred and poisonous extremism that has led to these attacks. As we think about that attack and the dreadful massacre at Bondi beach, the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, raised powerful issues around 7 October and how we think of those and made a powerful plea that, as we face today’s antisemitism, we continue to keep alive the work that is being done to link the antisemitism we think of in terms of the Holocaust with what is going on today all around us. I am grateful for the mention of the report from the noble Lord, Lord Mann, and Penny Mordaunt: I am very grateful for their work in this respect. The noble Baroness, Lady Ramsey, spoke powerfully about how we must confront failings in the organisations we are close to, even when it is painful—what the noble Baroness, Lady Harding, referred to as the very uncomfortable introspection that we need to undergo through our thinking about this. The noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, is right: speaking out is a duty for all of us, and the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, reminded us of the powerful words of Martin Niemöller. Much of this antisemitism is feeding into some of the awful words we hear about Holocaust denial and distortion. The noble Lord, Lord Massey, spoke powerfully about denial, and the Government condemn any organisation or individual that attempts to deny the Holocaust. We are implacably opposed to people such as the revisionist historian David Irving and have spoken out recently against the Iranian Government, who are attempting to cast doubt on the facts of the Holocaust. The Government deplore attempts to deny the Holocaust, including those views expressed in a pseudo-intellectual manner. It is of course the case that if Holocaust denial is expressed in a way that is threatening, abusive or insulting and incites racial hatred, or is likely to do so, it is unlawful under the Public Order Act 1986. The noble Lord, Lord Howard, and others, said how important it is that these laws are upheld: they are there for a purpose and we must all make sure that they are taken seriously. The noble Lords, Lord Massey and Lord Austin, and the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, referred to the impact of the current conflict in Israel and Palestine. We profoundly welcome the ceasefire agreement, of course, and are working intensively to support the 20-point plan for peace. It is vital that both parties uphold the agreement as we implement phase 2 on governance, stabilisation and construction. We continue to mourn the devastating loss of life on 7 October and afterwards and the ongoing desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza. We are deeply relieved that all living hostages have now been released and we continue to insist that the body of the last remaining hostage is returned. Even with the hostages released, we recognise that the trauma and terror Hamas’s actions have inflicted on hostages and their families endures, and we continue to work with partners to maintain the ceasefire and ensure the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza. Diplomacy, not more bloodshed, is how we will get security for Israelis and Palestinians, and that requires a political process and a political horizon towards a two-state solution. Over time, only that will ensure long-term peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians. Much of the debate this afternoon has focused on issues around education and it is right that it has done so, particularly in view of the theme of Holocaust Memorial Day this year. The noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, mentioned Dov Forman and Lily Ebert. I remember very well listening to Dov and to Lily. The noble Baroness, Lady Deech, mentioned the distortion of social media for young people and how it is almost as if they are trying to educate themselves but they are getting a distorted picture because of what they are picking up from social media. The Department for Education actively supports schools to provide high-quality teaching on the Holocaust through the funding of two core programmes and we are also funding a two-year programme, the Supporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching programme. Lessons from Auschwitz gives students aged 16 to 18 the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau and funding for 2025-26 is £2,300,000. The Centre for Holocaust Education’s CPD programme supports teachers in their professional development, with the Pears Foundation and UCL contributing match and in-kind support of the same amount as the Government, which is £500,000. The Supporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching programme will support schools in using recorded Holocaust survivor testimony in their teaching. Funding is being provided for that and being delivered by the Holocaust Education Trust. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry referred to what is I think is the most important thing in this education, which is when you get an outstanding teacher who can inspire and educate you on these topics. Then there is the much wider programme of support for tackling antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities. Some £500,000 of this money has been awarded to the University Jewish Chaplaincy for student welfare on university campuses, where we know there has been particular difficulty. Training for university support staff delivered by the Union of Jewish Students began in November, with 600 sessions planned over three years, and the scholarship programme will provide in-depth training and a learning network, with delivery commencing from this month. A tackling antisemitism in education innovation fund is launching shortly to promote tolerant debate, and successful projects will commence from April. The Department for Education’s Educate Against Hate website provides schools and parents with free quality-assured teaching resources, helping to navigate discussions over sensitive topics and aiding our efforts to end hate and prejudice in our schools. On 5 November, we published the final report of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, alongside the Government’s response. The report’s recommendations for curriculum reform will help tackle hatred and prejudice by ensuring that, in areas such as citizenship and religious education, the refreshed national curriculum and its supporting resources reflect our modern society. There will be a renewed focus on improving young people’s media literacy, helping them think more critically about the content they consume. There have also been incidents of antisemitism on university campuses, as we all know. There were 35 incidents reported to the CST in the first six months of 2025 in which the victims or offenders were students or academics, or which involved student union societies or other bodies. Of these, 16 took place on campus or university property and 13 occurred online. That is a drop of 64% from 98 higher education incidents reported in the first half of 2024, but each one of those incidents affects somebody deeply and for a long time. The total is twice the 17 incidents that were logged across January to June in 2023, which was not impacted by a trigger event in the Middle East. The Secretary of State wrote to university vice-chancellors in October, urging them to take steps to protect Jewish students from harassment. Where lawful protest crosses the line into harassment, intimidation and the glorification of terrorism, we expect universities to use the full extent of their disciplinary processes to take swift and decisive action to tackle it. Turning to the commemoration on Holocaust Memorial Day, our national event, and education and community activities, the noble Lord, Lord Pickles, spoke of the reduction in the number of events taking place in education establishments. According to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, in 2023, more than 2,000 secondary schools held commemorative events, but on 7 October that year, things changed. In January 2024, just a few months after the deadliest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust, the number fell dramatically to fewer than 1,200, and in 2025, the figure, which I think the noble Lord gave, was just 854 schools choosing to hold an event, so we must redouble our efforts in terms of commemoration here. On our Holocaust memorial and learning centre, mentioned by the noble Baronesses, Lady Deech and Lady Harding, and the noble Lord, Lord Pickles, I agree that we must face our past. The Government are determined to deliver on the long-standing commitment to build a new national memorial to the Holocaust. I join the noble Baroness, Lady Harding, in thanking the noble Lord, Lord Pickles, for all the work he has done on this. The memorial will stand as a reminder to all in Parliament, and the whole nation, of our responsibility to remain vigilant against intolerance and bigotry. The new Holocaust memorial will honour the 6 million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust and all other victims of the Nazi persecution. There can be no more powerful a symbol of our commitment to remembering those men, women and children murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators than placing the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens, prominent among the buildings and memorials that symbolise our nation and its values. I want to reflect for a moment on the comments made by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry on faith and belief in the UK. For millions of people in this country, their faith and belief identity is a crucial part of their lives, and our nation is enriched by a diverse tapestry of faiths and beliefs. The Government are committed to harnessing the power of faith for national renewal, helping us to make progress against our missions and improving social cohesion. The noble Baroness, Lady Deech, spoke about the importance of leaders of faiths other than Judaism speaking out against antisemitism; that is a really important point. I say to my noble friend Lord Sahota on the Amritsar massacre—a tragic event and one quite separate to today’s debate—that previous Prime Ministers have called the massacre deeply shameful, and the incident is a shameful scar on British Indian history. I understand the pain that it still causes in our Sikh community, and I am happy to discuss it with my noble friend outside of this debate. I express my deep gratitude to the remarkable organisations in the UK that work tirelessly to ensure that the Holocaust is remembered and, crucially, understood. Their work goes far beyond commemoration; it shapes minds, builds empathy and confronts ignorance. Along with the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, and the noble Lord, Lord Evans, I pay special tribute to Karen Pollock CBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, and Olivia Marks-Woldman OBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Their leadership has ensured that survivors’ voices continue to reach new generations. It remains profoundly important that the Holocaust is the only historic event that is compulsory within the national curriculum for history at key stage 3. This Government have made a firm commitment that it will remain a compulsory topic in the reformed national curriculum, including in academy schools when the reforms are implemented. Our Department for Education continues its active support for high-quality Holocaust education through University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education and its continuous professional development programmes and through the Holocaust Educational Trust’s transformative programme for 16 to 18 year-olds—which I mentioned earlier—and the survivor testimony in teaching programme. As many noble Lords have touched on today, we are approaching a moment in history when no Holocaust survivors will remain to share their testimony in person. This is a profound and sobering reality. The survivors who have spent their lives retelling the most painful chapters of their past so that we might build a better future will not always be with us. That is why the responsibility now falls to all of us to redouble our efforts, to preserve their stories, to speak the truth when others distort it and to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are never diminished, never denied and never forgotten. I thank noble Lords for the dignity, compassion and commitment they have brought to today’s debate. It has been a privilege to listen and take part in it. As we face a world where the comfortable world order so many of us have grown up with is disintegrating around us, it is even more important that we continue to remember these things. In this debate, we put aside our party politics for our compassion, our determination to remember and our common humanity. I want to close with the words from the noble Lord, Lord Austin, that we must pledge ourselves not to platitudes but to action. Listening to the debate today, I think that we are all determined to do that to make sure that this is not just about memories but about creating hope for the future that this will never happen again.