- The Government has affirmed its commitment to delivering the UK’s National Holocaust Memorial by re-introducing the Holocaust Memorial Bill in Parliament
- The Bill seeks to update Victorian legislation and enable progress to continue towards construction
- The chosen site of Victoria Tower Gardens places the Memorial at the heart of national life
The Government has re-introduced the Holocaust Memorial Bill into Parliament in a move that cements its support for delivering the UK’s National Holocaust Memorial.
The Bill will now begin its final stage on the road to Royal Assent following strong cross-party support in the House of Commons.
The passage of the Bill will update historic legislation that currently limits building on the intended site of Victoria Tower Gardens in Westminster. This will allow for planning permission to be sought and for works on the Memorial to begin.
The Victoria Tower Gardens site would position the Memorial next to the Houses of Parliament, serving not only as a powerful tribute to the victims of the Holocaust but as a reminder of the importance of democracy and the dangers of allowing hate and intolerance to prevail.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:
The evil and brutality of the Holocaust is a stark reminder of what can happen when hatred and intolerance go unchallenged. We must make sure those who died are never forgotten.
This Bill will mean future generations continue to learn lessons from the past and help to build a more unified, tolerant future.
The cross-party unity on this shows the importance of this Bill and I encourage Peers to continue this unified front during the debate.
The project, which was first proposed in 2015, includes a dedicated learning centre below ground, offering a place of poignant reflection as well as a space to understand the history of the Holocaust and learn lessons for the future.
Testimony from remaining Holocaust survivors has been captured for inclusion in the Learning Centre, preserving the voices of victims and allowing visitors to learn from those directly affected by the Holocaust.
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust:
We are very grateful to the Government for re-introducing the Holocaust Memorial Bill. With the Holocaust fading further into history and survivors becoming fewer and frailer, the need for progress on building the memorial and learning centre next to Parliament has never been more urgent.
With antisemitism surging in the UK and around the world, we must be more determined than ever to show exactly where this pernicious hate can and did lead.
From the outset, the project has enjoyed cross-party support, exemplified by the joint work of Rt Hon Ed Balls and Rt Hon Lord Eric Pickles as co-chairs of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation advising Government on the proposal.
The plans for the Memorial and Learning Centre have been welcomed by many in the Jewish Community who echo the importance of truthful and accurate Holocaust remembrance.
Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephram Mirvis says:
With the passage of time and the tidal wave of polarisation, scapegoating and hatred that seems to be sweeping the world, the urgent moral duty to preserve the lessons of the Holocaust could not be greater.
This recommitment by our new Government to creating a permanent Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre, on a most suitable site, sends a timely message, not only about our national undertaking to remembering this dark period of our history but, more importantly, about the kind of future we want to create together.
