Labour’s Secret Brexit Betrayal? Rachel Reeves Admits Shocking EU Deal for Young Migrants!

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has admitted that the Labour government is planning to agree to a new deal with the European Union that would allow young people to live, work, and travel between the UK and Europe. Speaking during a trip to Washington DC, Ms. Reeves said the government wants to make it easier for young people from both sides to work and travel abroad.

This is a big change from what Labour leaders promised before. Just last year, Sir Keir Starmer’s team strongly rejected the idea of a youth mobility scheme. In August, his spokesperson said clearly: “We are not considering a youth mobility deal with the EU and we will not bring back freedom of movement.” Back then, Labour had insisted that allowing free movement again would betray the Brexit vote, and they promised it would not happen.

Now, things have changed. Ms. Reeves told The Times that although Labour still wants to bring down net migration (the number of people moving into the UK), they also want better trade relationships with Europe and more opportunities for young people to travel and work. However, she stressed that they must “get the balance right” and that net migration must not rise.

The European Commission has been pushing the UK for over a year to agree to a youth mobility scheme. Under the plan, people aged 18 to 30 could live and work in each other’s countries for up to four years.

Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure from many Labour MPs who want closer ties with Europe. Over 60 MPs signed a letter to the government’s EU negotiation minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds, urging him to agree to a new youth visa scheme. They proposed that it should have a strict limit on the number of visas given out and that it should only apply to people under 30.

This week, a source familiar with the talks suggested that the scheme might allow as many as 70,000 people per year — a number that could spark major debate within the government.

Not everyone in Labour agrees on the plan. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is reportedly pushing to keep the promises Labour made during the election  particularly the promise to lower migration. Ms. Cooper wants strict rules: a cap on the number of visas and a maximum stay of just one year far less than the four years the EU suggested.

Interestingly, EU officials seem open to compromise. They may accept a shorter time limit and even rebrand the program as a “youth experience” initiative instead of a “mobility scheme” to avoid upsetting people who supported Brexit.

A European Union source said, “Everyone is being very careful, but there is a real effort to make this work without causing fears about higher migration. There are many ways this could be organized, and putting quotas on numbers is one idea.”

Brussels seems willing to be flexible, but the situation has clearly exposed deep divisions inside the Labour government over how to handle Brexit promises, migration, and the UK’s future relationship with Europe.