The primary internal opposition to a full-blown youth mobility scheme is coming from Starmer’s top interior minister Yvette Cooper.
The home secretary believes such a plan would “not be compatible” with pledges to bring down net migration, according to a person familiar with the thinking at the top of the Home Office. Like others quoted in this story, they were granted anonymity by POLITICO so they could speak candidly.
Some supporters — and EU officials — have suggested the temporary nature of the scheme means participants should not count towards migration figures. They also point out that the U.K. already has similar youth mobility schemes with 12 countries including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Iceland, and Japan. Just 23,000 used these visas last year, a relatively small component of the overall net migration figure.
But that’s not how the Home Office sees it. “They would still be part of the U.K. labor market,” the person quoted higher said. Cooper is unlikely to accept a fiddling of the books by keeping participants in a EU scheme our of the equation.
Brussels’ quid pro quo
Brussels, along with European capitals such as Berlin, is keen to strike a youth mobility deal as part of talks to ease some of the trade barriers that have dogged Britain since Brexit.
One EU diplomat said Brussels sees youth mobility as a “quid pro quo” for the U.K.’s “aggressive interests” including the mutual recognition of professional qualifications and a veterinary agreement.