Brexit: Sadiq Khan calls for 'youth mobility agreement' with EU to allow young people to travel and work

Young people should be able to move and work freely within the EU through a special post-Brexit arrangement, Sadiq Khan has said.

The Mayor of London has become Labour's most outspoken politician about Brexit, a start contrast to the party's leader, Sir Keir Starmer, who has said there is not case for rejoining the bloc. Khan previously said the UK should examine re-entry to the single market and customs union, and has now called for youth mobility visa with European countries.

“The government’s hard Brexit has done damage right across London and it is young people who have been hardest hit in so many ways," Khan told the Observer. “Not only is it more difficult for young people to move abroad for work, but the government’s wrong-headed decision to leave the Erasmus scheme has made it much harder for students to study abroad too.

“I’m clear that I’d be supportive of a youth mobility scheme, which would benefit us economically, culturally and socially. While the UK may no longer be part of the EU, London is, and always will be, a European city.”

The Mayor of London wants new rules to allow young people to study, travel and work in sectors of the economy which have vacancies. He hasn't specified an age limit, but said it would be reciprocal.

Previously, George Eustice, who is a Brexiteer, called on the government to negotiate with European countries for two-year work visas for under 35s. It is thought this could particularly benefit the hospitality sector, and also potentially help artists embarking on tours - who have been particularly badly affected by post-Brexit rules.

The Observer reported that Starmer, who has shifted his stance on Brexit considerably, was informed of the mayor's comments but did not try to block them. The Home Office is reportedly assessing a youth mobility scheme.

Khan recently called for the government to examine rejoining the single markets or the customs union, following a City Hall-commissioned report by Cambridge Econometrics which found that the UK economy will shrink by £300 billion by 2035 if no action is taken.

The research revealed that the UK’s GDP has shrunk by £140 billion due to Brexit, while London’s economy has taken a £30 billion hit. The average Briton was nearly £2,000 worse off in 2023, the report said, while the average Londoner was nearly £3,400 worse off last year. It also calculated that there are nearly two million fewer jobs overall in the UK due to Brexit.

A recent poll by Opinium found that a majority of Britons now blame Brexit for fuelling inflation and the cost of living crisis, as well as leading to record net migration.

The survey, to mark the third anniversary of the UK officially leaving the EU, is the latest to find wide dissatisfaction with Brexit, from both sides of the debate. In this poll of 2,000 people, only 22% thought the exit has had a good impact on the UK, with 48% thinking it has had a bad impact. Almost two-thirds of respondents said Brexit has been a factor in sky-high inflation and the cost of living crisis, with only 7% saying it has kept down prices in shops.

A majority of Britons are now in favour moving back into the trading bloc. Seven in 10 Britons support a closer relationship with the EU, while 57% want the UK to rejoin the single market, a YouGov poll revealed. And 54% of people think that Brexit is not done - backed by a majority of Remain voters and Leave voters.

Brexit benefits have been in short supply recently. Over Christmas, the government announced it was not going ahead with Boris Johnson’s plans to bring back imperial measurements after 99% of respondents opposed it. It did however say that British vineyards could now sell pint-sized bottles of wine.

This year, people are only likely to blame more problems on Brexit. Soon the EU will require holidaymakers from the UK to provide fingerprints and facial scans to visit, which travel companies say will only lead to more queues and chaos.

Britons will also have to start paying a fee to go on holiday to Portugal, Greece and Spain. And at some point the government will bring in full checks on food being imported from the EU, which will inevitably push up prices. 

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.