London Liberal Democrats have hit out at Sadiq Khan for failing to start work on a London regional replacement for the Erasmus exchange scheme promised in his manifesto for re-election this year. The idea had first been proposed by Liberal Democrat London Assembly Members in Spring this year, but Labour Assembly Members voted against the proposals.
In his London Manifesto, Sadiq Khan had pledged to work towards creating a regional replacement scheme for Erasmus, that would allow young Londoners to take part in educational exchange opportunities in the EU and wider afield.
Now the Liberal Democrats have stated Sadiq Khan’s manifesto pledge was nothing more than an election gimmick designed to peel away voters from internationalist parties like themselves, with questioning in the London Assembly revealing that five months on from his re-election, Sadiq Khan has not started work on any such scheme.
Questioning by Liberal Democrat Assembly Group Leader Hina Bokhari saw the Mayor refuse to outline any timescales for when he might begin work on the exchange scheme, he also declined to state whether he has had any discussions with the higher education sector since making the manifesto commitment.
The Mayor also declined to criticise Prime Minister Kier Starmer for snubbing an offer by the EU for a youth mobility scheme and ruling out re-joining Erasmus+.
Commenting, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Hina Bokhari said:
“It is very clear that the Mayor’s promise for a London replacement for a Erasmus scheme was nothing but an election gimmick to try and peel away pro-EU voters from parties like the Liberal Democrats.
“In the five months since his re-election, it is clear he hasn’t so much as even attempted to get this scheme off the ground and has no targets or timescales for any future rollout.
“The Liberal Democrats gave him the opportunity to provide such a scheme at the start of this year when we attempted to amend his budget, only for Labour to vote against the proposals.
“While Labour continues to press ahead with the Conservative’s legacy of neglect for our younger generations, the Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for more opportunities for young Londoners, for internationalism and for closer relations with the European Union.”
