Why does the anti-war poppy, symbolising peace for all, provoke heated debate in the run-up to Remembrance Day? Among the nationalists and patriotic pin-ups, this upset is most pronounced. Labour MP Simon Danczuk criticised Jeremy Corbyn for wearing a white poppy three years ago because Danczuk felt it was “deeply offensive” to our armed forces. Tory MP Johny Mercer tweeted last month: “White poppies are attention-seeking rubbish. Ignore the wearers of them … and don’t deliberately try and hijack it’s [sic] symbolism for your own ends.” Ouch.
The angst began this year after Britain’s largest teaching union, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), was heavily criticised for promoting the Peace Pledge Union’s campaign, which calls for schools across the country to endorse white poppies. The thought of children flooding from their school gates adorned with white poppies fills many with dread. Col Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, goes as far as accusing the campaigners of “indoctrinating children”.
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