Britain’s Labour government has set the stage for a major shift in its relationship with the European Union, advancing plans for an “ambitious” youth mobility scheme that could see tens of thousands of young Europeans living and working in the UK each year. The proposal, championed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, is being positioned as a crucial lever to boost economic growth and address a looming £30 billion budget shortfall. But as the details emerge, critics warn the scheme may mark the beginning of a quiet reversal of Brexit-era border controls.
According to BBC and The Times, the government’s initiative would allow Europeans aged 18 to 30 to spend two or three years in the UK, competing for jobs alongside British graduates. The specifics are still being hammered out in negotiations with Brussels, but the broad outlines have already sparked heated debate across the political spectrum. Reeves, speaking to The Times ahead of the Labour Party’s conference in Liverpool, described the scheme as “good for the economy, good for growth and good for business.” She added, “As a result of that reset in May, we think the economy will be stronger. We also want the OBR to score that.”
The chancellor’s optimism is rooted in the hope that the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) will include the projected economic benefits of the scheme in its upcoming forecasts, potentially limiting the need for painful tax hikes or spending cuts in the November 26 Budget. The OBR is due to send its first economic forecast to the Treasury on September 26, a report that will outline the fiscal gap Reeves must address—estimated to be between £20 billion and £30 billion per year due to downgraded long-term economic performance since Brexit.
Reeves has called for the OBR to consider the youth mobility scheme’s potential to drive growth, arguing that similar policies have been scored positively in the past. The UK already operates comparable schemes with 11 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, which allow young people to stay for up to three years. In 2024, just over 24,000 youth mobility visas were issued under these agreements. If the EU deal goes forward, the numbers could be far higher. What began as a cap of 50,000 visas has reportedly climbed to 70,000—matching the total annual migration intake that many politicians once promised as a maximum after Brexit.
But the proposal is far from universally popular. Conservative and Reform UK politicians have been quick to denounce the plan as a “partial return to freedom of movement,” the very principle that Brexit was supposed to end. Reform UK has gone further, warning that the deal will “bring back free movement through the back door.” Former Brexit minister David Frost accused Labour of “selling out this country’s self-government to a foreign court” by seeking closer alignment with Brussels on migration, food regulations, energy policy, and even European Court of Justice oversight.
The EU’s position has been clear from the outset. According to internal documents seen by BBC, Brussels regards youth mobility as “an indispensable element” of any future UK-EU relationship. The bloc has warned that it will not proceed with Labour leader Keir Starmer’s wider Brexit “reset” unless Britain accepts the scheme. Former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier stated long before Labour took power that no UK-EU trade deal would advance without youth mobility on the table. Now, as talks progress, Brussels is expected to demand not only the entry of young workers but also the right for their families to join them, echoing its longstanding push to soften Britain’s post-Brexit border controls.
The political context is fraught. Starmer, who opposed Brexit and fought to overturn the 2016 referendum result, is now seeking deeper alignment with the EU across a range of policy areas. For millions who voted to leave, Labour’s youth mobility scheme looks less like an economic fix and more like the slow, deliberate dismantling of Brexit itself. Critics point to recent concessions on fishing rights, energy caps, and now migration as evidence that Britain is drifting back into Brussels’ orbit.
Yet the economic rationale for the scheme is hard to ignore. The OBR previously downgraded UK growth by 4% as a direct result of the original Brexit deal. Reeves and her allies argue that the youth mobility agreement could help reverse some of that damage, boosting productivity and filling labor shortages in key sectors. The chancellor has also stressed a series of other measures aimed at accelerating growth, including further trade deals and support for house building and childcare—policies the OBR has scored as positive for the economy in recent years.
Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson James MacCleary has criticized the government for “moving far too slowly,” insisting that “firm action now” is needed to bring revenue to the exchequer and shore up the public finances. With the OBR’s forecast looming, much depends on whether the independent forecasters will accept the government’s arguments and factor in the potential upsides of the youth mobility scheme. If they do, Reeves could avoid breaking Labour’s election promise not to increase income tax, National Insurance, or VAT for working people—a pledge that has become increasingly difficult to keep as the fiscal gap widens.
For now, the specifics of the youth mobility agreement remain in flux. Reeves declined to specify how many visas could be issued annually under the scheme, noting that negotiations are ongoing. The possibility that the EU will demand family reunification rights as part of the deal has further inflamed critics, who fear that Britain’s post-Brexit border controls are being eroded piece by piece.
Supporters, meanwhile, argue that the scheme is simply a pragmatic response to economic reality. The UK’s existing youth mobility programs have attracted thousands of young people from countries around the world, helping to fill skills gaps and inject fresh energy into the economy. Extending the scheme to EU nationals, they say, is a logical next step—one that could help Britain compete in a global marketplace where talent is increasingly mobile.
As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: the youth mobility deal has become a litmus test for the future of UK-EU relations and the legacy of Brexit itself. Whether it ultimately delivers the promised economic boost—or triggers a political backlash—remains to be seen. But with the Budget deadline fast approaching and the stakes higher than ever, the government’s next moves will be watched closely by allies and opponents alike.
With negotiations ongoing and the OBR’s verdict imminent, Britain stands at a crossroads—caught between the economic imperatives of growth and the political realities of a divided electorate still wrestling with the consequences of Brexit.