Why Is Starmer So Against An EU Youth Travel Scheme?

The prime minister has once again been urged to agree to a limited scheme to allow young people to travel freely between the UK and the EU for the purposes of work or study, and has once again signalled his refusal to consider it.

- JOHN RENTOUL

Ignacio Garcia Bercero, the EU’s former chief negotiator, called on Keir Starmer to agree to a deal on youth mobility and cultural exchange as part of the continuing negotiations under the framework set by the trade and cooperation agreement, which governs trade between the UK and the EU.

A government spokesperson repeated the line that the prime minister has taken consistently since before the election: “There are no plans for a youth mobility scheme and we will not return to freedom of movement.”

Stella Creasy, the Labour MP who is chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, points out that the EU’s proposals for a youth mobility scheme would place strict restrictions on participants, so “it’s very clearly not free movement”, but Starmer appears to be unmoved.

Why is the prime minister taking such a hard line on this?