Lisa Nandy defends linking Erasmus+ to Remembrance Sunday

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended her department’s decision to link the UK’s return to Erasmus+ with remembrance of wartime service, after Conservatives criticised the wording ahead of Remembrance Sunday on 8 November 2026. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport made the announcement on Saturday night, according to bbc.com, which reported Nandy’s response the following day.

• The department said Erasmus+ would give a new generation the chance to build connections across Europe.
• Nandy said she was horrified by the criticism and rejected the claim that she was making a political pitch for closer EU ties.
• The UK is due to rejoin Erasmus+ in January; the government says the expanded scheme will include study placements and youth exchanges.

Why Nandy connected Erasmus+ with remembrance

The department’s announcement said that remembering those who served could go alongside creating opportunities for young people through “closeness and collaboration with our allies”. Nandy argued that young people should understand how wartime generations contributed both in Britain and across Europe. She invoked Winston Churchill’s post-war call to extend friendship across Europe, and said Brexit had closed opportunities for young people to learn about that generation’s contribution beyond the UK.

Nigel Farage also criticised the remarks, telling the BBC that he found it in poor taste to connect the announcement with Remembrance Sunday and the war. Nandy stood by her comments, saying she could not see what was political about helping young people understand how their grandparents and great-grandparents contributed to the liberation of people across Europe.

What Erasmus+ is expected to offer young people

The UK is due to rejoin the expanded Erasmus+ scheme in January, six years after leaving it as part of the Brexit deal, the BBC reported. The government says it will offer year-abroad placements to UK university students and their European peers, alongside cultural exchanges. It also says 18-year-olds will be able to get free train passes to visit EU countries alone or with up to five friends.

Youth groups will be able to take part in shorter exchanges, with a focus on places that have previously been less engaged with the scheme, including northern England and the Midlands, according to the BBC. Applications are scheduled to open later in November, but the report gave no exact date.