Want to prove you care about young people, Keir Starmer? Give us back the freedom to explore Europe | Beth Riding

IThroughout my life I have always felt that the government serves the old at the expense of the young. The most notable example from the Conservatives' time in government was the huge increase in university fees to £9,000, while older voters had the security of triple pension protection and numerous policies in their favour. To make matters worse, during the last election campaign Rishi Sunak proposed making national service compulsory for all 18-year-olds. We seem to be constantly either forgotten or punished.

This government needs to change things – and it can start by reinstating some form of free movement for 18-30 year olds across Europe. It's a plan the government is apparently considering, but has publicly denied supporting. It should know that implementing this plan would be a bright spot in a dark time for many young people in Britain.

After the UK left the EU, the Erasmus+ programme was discontinued. This was a university exchange that gave young people the opportunity to study abroad – in 2018 alone, almost 10,000 British students spent at least two months to a year at EU universities as part of their studies. This programme financed the travel and accommodation costs of participating students, making it accessible to anyone who wanted to have the invaluable experience of living and studying abroad.

Despite reported European interest in resuming the Erasmus programme, Starmer's government said this week it had no plans to do so – snubbing both its European partners and young people across the UK. The alternative offered is the The Tory government’s Turing programme launched in 2021 which is hardly a substitute. Unlike Erasmus, which was 'pre-funded' – the beneficiary institution received a grant to finance the internship – the Turing Programme requires that an internship be confirmed before the funding request is approved. This means that part of the cost often has to be paid by the student up front, as funding is only released when the internship starts. While this is possible for students who can afford these high costs or ask their parents to cover them, it is not an option for disadvantaged students – who arguably need this once-in-a-lifetime experience the most.

The ability to learn and become familiar with another language is arguably more important than ever, as the number of pupils learning foreign languages ​​in English schools from the age of 14 has dropped significantly. I had occasional Spanish lessons in my primary school. When I got to secondary school, we started from scratch, relearning the phrases I had already learnt, while pupils from other primary schools were desperately trying to unlearn the French or German they had learnt before the now compulsory Spanish lessons.

The lack of a national strategy linking what pupils learn in primary school with what they learn in secondary school is evident: 56% of primary schools report having no contact with neighbouring secondary schools when it comes to language teaching. This weakness in the UK education system shows how much the reintroduction of freedom of movement would be a great thing for pupils like me who found language teaching at school so daunting. By being exposed to a world outside the narrow walls of England, a passion for learning can be developed, encouraging pupils to learn a language because they love it – not because their school tells them to.

The need to engage with other cultures has become all the more important following the racist Islamophobic riots that erupted across the UK, fuelled by an inability to accept people of other ethnicities and cultures. It could be argued that this nativism could be avoided if people were given the opportunity to meet and interact with people of other backgrounds from a young age. I come from Cornwall, where young people suffer from the cost of living crisis and geographical isolation – and where the area is predominantly white. The opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture would help break down prejudices and give hope to children who really need it. Reintroducing free movement could also help to dispel some of the Euroscepticism of Nigel Farage and his new political vehicle, Reform UK.

A program like freedom of movement for 18-30 year olds, which finally puts youth at the centre, is urgently needed to enable students to thrive. By providing funding and developing policies that have the youth of this country in mind, the government could provide hope and create a domino effect of positive change for the younger generations – who need investment and care more than ever.