Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen react after hosting a joint press conference during the UK-EU Summit at Lancaster House in London on May 19, 2025.
Carl Court / POOL / AFP
Brussels benefits nicely from the UK rejoining Erasmus, but the UK taxpayer loses out.
The first major example of Keir Starmer’s push for closer ties with the European Union has gone terribly for the UK, and is a sign of more bad deals to come.
The prime minister’s team announced on Wednesday that the country is rejoining the EU’s ‘Erasmus Plus’ student exchange programme after reaching an agreement with Brussels. The taxpayer will fork out more than half a billion pounds in 2027 for this privilege, which is almost double the annual amount Britain previously contributed. “What,” asked political blog Guido Fawkes, “happened to ‘taking back control of our money?’”
According to Politico, Starmer asked for a 50% discount, but instead got just 30% off the first year. The publication stressed: “That feels worth noting when you consider how many other negotiations we’re still in—many of them more difficult than this one.”
British negotiators also failed to guarantee a cap on young Europeans coming to the UK, reports the Telegraph, opening the door to unlimited numbers of EU students.
Previously, many more Europeans travelled to Britain under the scheme than went the other way. Former Conservative cabinet minister Sir John Redwood argued on Wednesday that “the government should not spend tax money on subsidising EU students to come here under Erasmus,” and should instead focus on the UK’s own ‘Turing scheme’ designed to help British students attend overseas universities. That, he said, would be a “good Brexit win.”
Broadcaster Patrick Christys likewise described the deal as a “concession” to the EU, while former prime ministerial communications advisor Guto Harri jibed that “nothing ends well if you go groveling back to an ex after a bad break-up.”
Perhaps most tellingly, ‘The Rejoin EU Party’ has hailed “another Rejoinmas Miracle,” celebrating that “Brexit is slowly melting away.”
The deal will come into place in 2027, with agreements on further contributions by the UK to the scheme set to be reached in further negotiations.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
