Erasmus: Implications for the UK and Labour government

On December 17, the Labour government announced the UK’s renewed participation in the EU’s Erasmus+ student mobility programme. The UK is to resume participation in 2027, but will begin accepting applications to the programme in mid 2026. The announcement represented the fulfilment of a major commitment made earlier in 2025, at a joint UK-EU summit in May 2025, where UK and EU representatives agreed to work towards closer collaboration and interconnection between the two bodies.

Relations with the EU have certainly advanced since the May summit, and the Labour government has striven to reduce the division wrought by Brexit, citing necessary economic development. In a speech given on the December 1, Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that “We do need to get closer to the EU”. He said: “So we must all now confront the reality that the Brexit deal that we have significantly hurt our economy. And so for economic renewal … we have to keep moving towards a closer relationship with the EU”.

It is clear that the Labour government believes that the UK’s future security and economic development lies with the EU, and Erasmus+ represents a leap in this direction

Progress on the negotiation of renewed UK Erasmus+ participation has come alongside progress towards economic integration on electricity and carbon markets, with the possibility of the UK participating in the EU’s internal electricity market. It is clear that the Labour government believes that the UK’s future security and economic development lies with the EU, and Erasmus+ represents a leap in this direction.

Renewed participation in Erasmus+ and the general EU-UK reset has faced criticism from the Tories, with criticism directed at “dragging Britain back under the control of Brussels,”according to shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel. The projected £570 million cost for UK participation in 2027/28 has been called “nuts” by shadow education secretary Laura Trott, as reported by The Guardian. Further, shadow cabinet minister Alex Burghart comments that Erasmus is “drastically more expensive” than the Turing scheme, the alternative to Erasmus set up in 2021 by the Conservatives. Burghart claims that the Turing scheme “benefited more British people”.

For the 2021/22 academic year, a total of 21,353 people participated in international work and study placements through the Turing scheme, according to Baroness Barran, member of the House of Lords. Comparatively, 18,305 UK trainees and students used Erasmus in the 2018-19 academic year, and the government has suggested that over 100,000 people in the UK could benefit from the scheme in the first year alone.

However, opportunities for the UK to expand the range of potential applicants to apprentices and those in adult education could vastly increase UK applicants to the programme, up to the 100,000 figure projected by the government

In the 10 years between 2010/11 and 2020/21, the UK consistently received at least double the number of incoming international students through Erasmus than the output to Europe, a statistic which greatly contributed to the Conservative view of Erasmus as too expensive and lacking in value for the UK. However, opportunities for the UK to expand the range of potential applicants to apprentices and those in adult education could vastly increase UK applicants to the programme, up to the 100,000 figure projected by the government.

On the strictly economic side, funding provided to the Turing scheme amounted to £100 million, potentially providing funding for up to 35,000 placements for UK students. The projected £570 million cost for the first year of renewed UK participation in Erasmus+ is, of course, significantly greater, with these costs largely justified by the extended reach and capability of the Erasmus programme. The Turing scheme cannot be applied to directly by students, nor does it connect education providers and other eligible organisations with potential recipient organisations. It simply provides organisations with the funding to send students abroad.

Conversely, the Erasmus+ programme plays a more expansive role in bringing together UK and European institutions, making it a valuable tool for closer interconnection between the two, albeit one that comes at a fairly hefty cost. However, Erasmus+ also fulfils the function of funding students to come to study in the UK, meaning its absence would cost British universities a significant source of income. A report from 2021 suggested that ending Erasmus that year may cost the UK over £200 million a year. The projected £570 million figure comes at a 30% discount from what the UK would ordinarily have paid. With future payments not yet negotiated, the possibility remains open for further discounts as UK-EU relations grow closer or equally, higher prices if the discount is not renewed.

If, and likely when, however, closer connections with the EU inevitably follow, Labour will be in conflict with the growing Reform party, who occupy a staunchly anti-EU stance

Despite these brief comments from primarily Tory officials, the move is generally politically uncontroversial for the moment. The topic was absent from the PMQs on December 17, only two and a half hours after the announcement. If, and likely when, closer connections with the EU inevitably follow, Labour will be in conflict with the growing Reform party, who occupy a staunchly anti-EU stance.

The BBC reports widely positive reactions from universities to participation in Erasmus: Universities UK and the National Union of Students (NUS) Cymru both heralded the December 17 announcement as “fantastic news”, and the University Alliance Group said it would provide “transformative opportunities to study abroad, gain new perspectives, and build lifelong international connections”.

Students too seem pleased. Many are already planning their studies abroad, and graduating students are bemoaning that the scheme was not available sooner. A University of Leeds student said the programme would “open doors to understanding different cultures and the way of life of different people”. Erasmus was hugely popular with students prior to the UK exit in 2021, and there is no reason to suggest that this same sentiment will not resume.

The Russell Group said Erasmus would open up “fantastic opportunities for students”, but that “there’s a lot of work to be done to make sure the sector is ready”. It is likely that participation in the scheme heralds significant change for higher education institutions in the UK. Stronger relationships with EU institutions will need to be built and maintained, and upgraded infrastructure to receive the greater number of international students headed to the UK may be necessary.

Perhaps a surprising impact from the rejoining of Erasmus+ is ameliorated relations with the Scottish Government. By 2021, more than 2,000 students and staff used Erasmus+ every year, proportionally sending and receiving more students than any other country in the UK. Erasmus’ replacement with the Turing scheme, which did not support visits to Scotland, caused concern amongst the Scottish Government and was called “simply unacceptable” by Scottish Minister for Higher Education Richard Lochhead. The reinstatement of Erasmus is likely to resolve this issue and fix those splits.