PM urged to rethink EU travel plan

The SNP has called on the Prime Minister to “rethink his plan to cut Britain’s young people off from opportunities in Europe”.

MP Mhairi Black, the SNP’S youth affairs spokesperson, accused both the Conservative Government and Labour Opposition of being committed to ending freedom of movement across Europe, which she said would “remove the right to live, work and study across the EU”.

She pointed to statistics that more than a quarter of full-time research staff at Scottish universities are EU nationals, while Scottish students are able to study across Europe as part of their degree under the Erasmus+ scheme. EU funding has also allowed the Scottish Government to increase college places and provide extra training for young people.

She said the Brexit threat had been responsible for the withdrawal of UK rail companies from the Interrail travel scheme, although the Rail Delivery Group has since confirmed the UK will remain part of the Europe-wide train travel scheme which has been in place since 1972. Welcoming the u-turn, she said she was delighted “future generations across Europe will continue to have opportunities to explore Europe. However, there is so much more to do to retain the current benefits young people in Scotland and the UK have through membership of the EU. “Whether it’s the contributions made to Scottish education by EU nationals, or the chance for young Scots to live, work and study abroad, being part of Europe can be life-changing.

“Young people in Scotland didn’t vote for Brexit – yet, if Boris Johnson gets his way, they’ll have to pay the price. Scotland’s youth benefit enormously from EU membership and they shouldn’t miss out because a rightwing Brexiteer is hellbent on a disastrous no-deal Brexit.”