Amid reports in The Telegraph that Starmer was considering a free movement deal proposed by the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, a government spokesperson told the paper that it was “not considering a youth mobility scheme”.
Sánchez and Starmer were said to have discussed the proposals in a private meeting at the European Political Community summit held in the UK on July 18.
“His private openness to the idea is in contrast with his public position in April, when Labour rejected an EU-wide youth mobility deal floated by Brussels,” the paper claimed.
However, the government has maintained its commitment not to take Britain back into the single market, customs union or restore freedom of movement.
This is the most recent example of a mooted mobility scheme making the headlines, with Rishi Sunak rejecting an offer in April from the European Commission that would have granted young people free movement for up to four years.
Even limited mobility between the UK and EU is politically sensitive and scrutinised as an indication of wider policy change
Ruth Arnold, Study Group
At the time, Labour said it had no plans for a similar scheme, and in its recent manifesto promised that there would be “no return to… freedom of movement”.
“Given the events of recent years, it’s probably not a surprise that any talk of even limited mobility between the UK and EU countries is politically sensitive and scrutinised as an indication of wider policy change,” Study Group senior advisor Ruth Arnold told The PIE News.
“Having said that, the government has made clear its intent to reset UK relationships across Europe. In the first days after the election, the Prime Minister hosted the countries of the European Political Community at Blenheim and told them he wanted to renew ‘trust and friendship’”, she added.
Since taking office, the Labour government has said it will maintain the graduate route, with the new education secretary Bridget Phillipson maintaining that “international students are welcome in the UK”.
The UK already has a Youth Mobility Scheme with 10 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Canada that allow students to study and work in the country for up to two years.
Calls for a similar post-Brexit EU agreement have been growing in recent months, with London mayor Sadiq Khan calling for a youth mobility agreement to “free young people from Brexit work and travel ban” in January 2024.
The Liberal Democrats’ 2024 election manifesto also called for the EU to be allowed into the UK’s Youth Mobility Scheme.
“Whatever position people take on Europe – there is a sense that in the arts, culture and education it’s time to look for adjustments which allow young people to know their neighbours and have a greater opportunity to learn from and with one another,” said Arnold.