A London MP said she is “ashamed” of a university union that has banned members from attending a Remembrance Sunday service in an official capacity.
Stella Creasy criticised the University of London Union after its leaders voted to stop staff from going to the annual service if they “claim to be representing ULU as an organisation”.
The decision by the union’s ruling senate, which represents 120,000 students, means elected representatives are only allowed to appear at the service, organised by the University of London, in a personal capacity.
Ms Creasy, who is Labour MP for Walthamstow and studied at the London School of Economics, tweeted: “As a former student, this decision by ULU to ban officers from participating in Remembrance Sunday makes me ashamed.” Her tweet sparked an exchange with Michael Chessum, the president of ULU, who has refused to go to this year’s event. He has said he will commemorate the dead by “fighting for peace”.
The union passed a motion that states that official Remembrance ceremonies “glorify and justify” British militarism and ignore the treatment of British soldiers “by the military command”.
In one of her messages to Mr Chessum, Ms Creasy said: “By banning ULU from being represented you send a message those on frontline less important than your personal showboating.”
He responded: “War is largely a bitter, unjust experience imposed on ordinary people, often by the same politicians who stand and salute them.”
Ms Creasy said: “If you think that those who serve deserve any respect, then Remembrance Sunday is about them, not political point scoring...”
The decision by ULU sparked outrage among students at the colleges that combine to form the University of London. Jay Stoll, general secretary of the LSE Students’ Union, called the ban “absurd”.
