Brexit returns to Labour Party conference with a vengeance, but who will blink first?

On the sidelines of the Labour Party conference, Brexit is quietly making a comeback, almost five years after Boris Johnson declared it was over.

EU officials are turning out in force for the meeting, alongside representatives from Germany, France and other key European countries, all keen to learn more about Sir Keir Starmer's so-called “Brexit reset” plans to strike new security and trade deals.

They also made it clear that I Last week it was reported that the price to be paid would be a youth mobility scheme allowing European adults under 30 to live and work in the UK for up to four years.

The outlines of a possible deal began to emerge on the sidelines of the talks, although the prime minister promised in his opening speech to impose tighter controls on immigration figures.

And, as I As media reported on Monday, it appears that the EU is ready to give ground.

Brussels is prepared to consider reducing the length of time Europeans aged 18 to 30 can stay in the UK from four to two or three years, as part of a proposed deal on youth immigration.

I There appears to be a sense in Europe that this could give the prime minister a negotiating victory that could help him sell any deal to potentially sceptical voters and opponents.

The bargaining, however, has only just begun. I The Prime Minister's Office has been asked to decide what the UK wants from the negotiations. It met for the first time about 10 days ago.

The EU expects the first British proposals to emerge from these discussions by the end of the year.

Labour's manifesto promised to push for a security and defence pact, a veterinary agreement to facilitate cross-border trade in food and agricultural products, a mutual recognition agreement for professional qualifications and a move to ease post-Brexit restrictions on touring artists.

David Henig, UK director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, said: “The positive engagement of EU officials on the sidelines of the conference was remarkable and appears to reflect a willingness to engage with the new government.”

There is, however, some nervousness about whether Labour knows enough about its aims, suggesting that these negotiations will not be easy.

Brussels figures were also privately warned at the conference that overemphasising youth mobility could jeopardise the whole reset, as the UK government has limited political space to agree a deal that will be seen as increasing immigration, particularly if the EU refuses to talk about a vet deal unless Starmer backs down on migration proposals.

Mike Buckley, head of the UK-EU Commission, said: “It would not be helpful for the EU to demand a deal on youth mobility before committing to pressing issues like defence and energy.”

Defense and energy are urgent issues, given Russian aggression and the climate crisis. We must not wait for other problems to be solved before taking action.

While I understand the good intentions behind the idea, complex issues and mobility deserve to be addressed first.

The EU may see youth mobility as an obvious first step, but the movement of people remains a thorny issue in the UK.

This could change, but for now the EU should start with areas of common interest and where there is common enthusiasm.

Leading figures in Labour's pro-EU grassroots movement, meanwhile, suggest that Starmer's red lines, including the one ruling out a customs union, may have to be crossed if the government remains determined to achieve the highest growth in the G7.

A senior source said: “They are afraid that the Reformists and Conservatives will start jumping up and down shouting betrayal and that voters will believe them, but all the evidence suggests that this is not true.”

The source also warned that the UK needed to be more positive about EU demands, such as on youth mobility, if it wanted the reset to be a success now: “They (Brussels) are a bit surprised that the UK keeps saying no to everything. The goodwill won’t last long.”

Labour’s movement for Europe, led by MP Stella Creasy, has grown since the election, with several MPs from the 2024 class joining, a sign of the internal difficulties Starmer could face if his Brexit reset goes wrong, and the potential pressure to go further.

The UK government has so far said it has no plans to strike a youth mobility deal, but has refused to rule out such a possibility.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has warned, however, that agreeing such a deal could hamper her work to reduce net migration.

Asked about the possibility of the UK concluding a deal on youth mobility, she said: I:No, net migration must decrease.

Net migration has tripled over the past four years, driven by a roughly sevenfold increase in overseas recruitment.

So we have made it clear that net migration must go down.

She added: “The European reset is really important.”

We want very close cooperation, but the UK voted to leave the EU, and that was also part of the manifesto in which we made it clear that there would be no return to free movement, no return to the customs union, no return to the single market.

We need to build a new relationship, including a better economic relationship, but also security cooperation which is really important.

We have been very clear [about] priorities, net migration must decrease.

EU proposals on youth mobility, published in April

The draft provides for conditions, including age and maximum length of stay (the Commission says it should be between 18 and 30 years, with a stay of up to four years), as well as eligibility conditions and rules for verifying compliance with the rules.

The proposal adds that British citizens would only be granted mobility within the member state where they were admitted and not in the other 26 EU countries.

The Commission also wants EU and UK students to be treated equally when it comes to tuition fees: after Brexit, EU students have moved from national to international status, which varies between 11,400 and 38,000 per year. Student visas are another problem, and can cost €490, while the healthcare surcharge is usually €776 per year.