Last night, Sir Keir Starmer faced allegations of squandering billions in efforts to reverse Brexit.
The Prime Minister committed to rejoining an EU education initiative at three times the previous expense. Ministers justified the nearly £1 billion annual cost of re-entering the Erasmus program, emphasizing the invaluable opportunities it offers students aspiring to study abroad.
However, critics argue that the Prime Minister is prioritizing reversing Brexit over fiscal responsibility.
Labour claimed that the £570 million price tag for participating in the 2027 program represents a 30 percent cost reduction. Nonetheless, Brussels dismissed the UK’s request for a 50 percent price cut.
EU officials indicated that no further ‘discounts’ would be considered, potentially saddling the UK with a £6 billion expense for the upcoming seven-year scheme.
This sum is thrice the £2 billion cost previously deemed prohibitive by Boris Johnson during Brexit negotiations.
When the UK was previously part of the scheme, the number of EU students using it to come to the UK was around double the number of British youngsters using it to study abroad. Thousands of European students will come to the UK each year as part of the scheme, including some from ‘associate members’ such as Turkey.
Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel accused Labour of ‘throwing away billions of pounds of hard-pressed taxpayers’ money’ as they ‘continue to betray Brexit’.
Sir Keir Starmer with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The decision to rejoin Erasmus is part of the Prime Minister’s Brexit ‘reset’, which is seeking much closer ties with Brussels
Students studying in Paris. The Prime Minister has signed up to Erasmus – an EU education scheme – at treble the previous cost pre-Brexit
She added: ‘They have consistently undermined the result of the 2016 referendum and remain obsessed with dragging Britain back under the control of Brussels.’
The decision to rejoin Erasmus is part of the Prime Minister’s Brexit ‘reset’, which is seeking much closer ties with Brussels.
Guto Harri, who served as Boris Johnson’s communications director in No 10, warned the huge cost of the scheme was a sign that Britain was likely to pay a heavy price for Labour’s reset. Mr Harri accused the PM of a ‘desperate attempt’ to cosy up to Brussels, adding: ‘Nothing ends well if you go grovelling back to an ex after a bad break-up.’
Tory frontbencher Mike Wood said the move was ‘the latest attempt by government to undo Brexit by stealth’.
Brexit minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said rejoining the scheme would be ‘a huge win for our young people’, who will be able to study, train or gain work experience in the EU from January 2027.
He told MPs that the vast cost was a ‘fair balance between the UK contribution and the benefits it offers’.
He added: ‘This is not only about money; it is also about the fact that young people’s lives, and indeed adult learners’ lives, are going to be enriched in so many ways. This is something we should celebrate.’ Mr Thomas-Symonds revealed he is also making ‘progress’ on plans for the UK to ‘participate in the EU’s internal electricity market’, which he said would cut energy bills.
And he said that plans for the UK to align with EU food and animal health standards could be finalised as soon as next year in a bid to ease trade barriers.
Join the debate
Should UK taxpayers fund EU student schemes when British students get fewer places abroad?
Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel accused Labour of ‘throwing away billions of pounds of hard-pressed taxpayers’ money’ as they ‘continue to betray Brexit’
Brexit minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said rejoining the scheme would be ‘a huge win for our young people’, who will be able to study, train or gain work experience in the EU from January 2027
A new youth mobility deal which will allow tens of thousands of young Europeans to live and work temporarily in the UK will also be finalised by next summer.
But he insisted Labour is not looking to rejoin the customs union or single market, or restart free movement.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said: ‘Rejoining Erasmus, reopening costly energy integration, and edging back into EU regulatory frameworks looks less like pragmatism and more like pro-EU ideology.
‘The British people voted in 2016 to take back control, and Labour’s approach shows a worrying disregard for that democratic decision.’
Britain was a member of the Erasmus scheme as part of its membership with the EU. In the final year of the scheme, the UK sent 9,900 students and trainees to Europe, while 16,100 youngsters from the EU came here.
Continued membership was discussed as part of the Brexit negotiations. But it was rejected as being poor value for money. In its place, the Conservatives introduced a Turing scheme, which funded 43,200 students to study abroad at a cost of £105million last year.
Mr Johnson said the EU wanted £2billion to join for seven years – more than the UK was paying at the time, but only a third of what Labour has now signed up to.
Government sources yesterday said the increased cost of Erasmus was explained partly by inflation.
Guto Harri, who served as Boris Johnson’s communications director in No 10, warned the huge cost of the scheme was a sign that Britain was likely to pay a heavy price for Labour’s reset
But sources also insisted the scheme is also now ‘much bigger’, with opportunities for British apprentices, college students and adult learners to study abroad, as well as university students.
Mr Thomas-Symonds told MPs that he expected the project to create places for ‘100,000 plus’ British youngsters each year.
He rejected criticism that the scheme is a subsidy for middle class youngsters, saying it would be open to people from ‘all backgrounds’.
Mr Thomas-Symonds said there would be a review of the scheme after ten months to ensure Britain was achieving a ‘fair balance’. He ducked questions about whether the ‘discount’ would be repeated in future.
But EU sources suggested it was a one-off to reflect the fact it will take time for Britain’s participation to reach its full level, with future payments subject to negotiation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the UK’s reintegration into the scheme opens the door to ‘new shared experiences and lasting friendships’ for young people.
