Brighton MP quizzes Prime Minister on the future of Erasmus

A newly-elected Brighton MP asked his first question in Parliament this week, quizzing the Prime Minister on student exchange programmes post-Brexit.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle asking his first question in ParliamentLloyd Russell-Moyle asking his first question in Parliament
Lloyd Russell-Moyle asking his first question in Parliament

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, asked that students arriving on programmes such as Erasmus will not face extra visa burdens after Brexit, and asked Theresa May if she had raised this matter with the European Council.

He said: "At the Council, did the Prime Minister manage to raise the issue of the Erasmus+ programme and our continuing work in it? In particular, the deadline for the Erasmus+ grants is October. It takes six months for those grants to be awarded, and another year sometimes for them to be enacted. Will she ensure that any academic, student or young person who is awarded an Erasmus programme is able to come here without additional visa burdens?"

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Prime Minister Theresa May said: "While we are still within the European Union, the current arrangements and the opportunities to apply still apply to the United Kingdom. We have been able to give some certainty over certain programmes and their continuation after we leave the European Union, but even after we have left there will be options for us to find ways in which we can contribute and participate in such programmes."

Mr Russell-Moyle said the Prime Minister failed to give reassurances on the issue, and said: "This shows even more that the government has taken its eye off the ball.

"It can't answer simple questions about its willingness to remain part of programmes, it can't assures students, who contribute so heavily to the Brighton economy will be safe, and they haven't even raised the issues at the European Union Council meeting this week."