Sir Keir Starmer had talks with his Spanish counterpart about striking a free movement deal for young people, it emerged yesterday.
The Prime Minister told Pedro Sánchez that he would consider a UK-Spain treaty allowing Spanish young people to live in the UK.
The secret talks took place on the fringes of the European Political Community (EPC) at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, earlier this month.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that Sir Keir did not reject the proposal, made to him by Mr Sánchez, and that he would mull it over.
It signals a shift in his stance since April, when Labour rejected an EU-wide youth mobility deal floated by Brussels.
Sir Keir Starmer held talks with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez about a possible free movement deal for young people, it emerged yesterday
The PM told Mr Sanchez that he would consider a bilateral treaty to allow Spanish young people to live in the UK
It will raise fresh concerns about whether Sir Keir, who campaigned for a second referendum to reverse the Leave vote, will gradually unpick Brexit in his bid to ‘reset’ relations with Brussels.
James Cleverly, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: ‘Three weeks in office and Labour are already betraying the British people by u-turning on their promises.
‘They said they wanted to bring migration down and rejected a Youth Mobility Scheme with the European Union and now Keir Starmer is getting ready to open up our borders.’
The Prime Minister has said he wants to renegotiate the UK-EU post-Brexit treaty, including on security.
He also wants to forge closer economic ties in areas like agriculture, chemicals and professional qualifications.
Although he has stressed he will not take Britain back into the bloc’s single market or customs union, critics accuse him of being unrealistic.
They point out that Brussels is likely to demand something in return for closer access to its markets.
This could include Britain once again effectively becoming subject to EU laws and judges.
It comes after Germany’s ambassador to the UK last week suggested that relaxing Britain’s borders could be the price for closer trading and security ties with the bloc.
Sir Keir met the Spanish PM on the fringes of the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace on July 18
Miguel Berger said Berlin would prefer a post-Brexit ‘mega deal’ which would restore freedom of movement for younger people and certain professionals.
He said greater freedom of movement will be a priority for the EU and that Berlin wanted a much ‘broader’ deal than the one being talked about by Sir Keir.
He said: ‘That would include a youth mobility scheme. It would include the Erasmus [student exchange] program, school trips, youth exchanges, the question of visa costs, which are more than 10 times higher to come to the UK than the other way around.
‘So I would say there are many, many things which affect the day-to-day mobility, especially for young people, and I would really like to see some progress there.’
Australia, New Zealand and Canada are among ten countries that the UK already has a Youth Mobility Scheme visa scheme with, allowing their citizens to study or work here for up to two years.
While EU nations are not part of the scheme, the question of whether a post-Brexit deal can be struck has risen up the political agenda.
