Young Britons who want to work or study across the Channel face a “tangle of Brexit red tape”, according to an MP who has formally proposed a UK-EU youth mobility scheme.
James MacCleary warned that lower barriers for young European Union citizens to live and work in the UK had been “mischaracterised” as freedom of movement.
Ministers have previously declined to “give a running commentary” on their negotiations with the 27-member bloc, but the Brussels-based European Commission has proposed talks with London to facilitate youth mobility.
MPs agreed on Monday that Mr MacCleary’s Youth Mobility Scheme (EU Countries) Bill should be introduced to the House of Commons for further consideration.
This Bill gives us the chance to send a different message to a generation of young people who have been denied the opportunities that so many of us in this chamber took for granted growing up
He told MPs that the UK’s relationship with the EU was “botched”, adding that Labour ministers had “stuck so closely to the Conservative Party’s script – or the Reform UK script – that ministers have even mischaracterised a youth mobility scheme with the EU as a return to freedom of movement”.
Mr MacCleary, the Liberal Democrats’ Europe spokesman, had earlier told the Commons: “Few thought that young people would be able to go for two years to live and work all the way over in Japan, but not be able to hop across the Channel and do the same in France.
“I’m not sure anyone voted for that kind of increased bureaucracy back in 2016.
“This Bill gives us the chance to send a different message to a generation of young people who have been denied the opportunities that so many of us in this chamber took for granted growing up.
“If we wanted to get a job or go and study in an EU country, then we could just go and do it.
“Opportunity and hope for the future have rarely been in such short supply in this country.”
This is a Government not serious about making the practical hard-headed choices that would greatly benefit the UK economy and labour market in the long-term, stimulating growth and improving the lives of British people
Mr MacCleary said a final scheme could be “defined”, with young people allowed to stay in either the UK or EU countries for a set time period.
A limited number of Japanese nationals aged between 18 and 30 can apply for a special Youth Mobility Scheme visa, with similar schemes in place for young people from Andorra, Iceland, Monaco, San Marino and Uruguay.
In turn, UK nationals can apply for a limited number of Japanese Working Holiday visas.
Mr MacCleary added that a scheme could help plug labour shortages “particularly in key sectors like hospitality”.
He said: “These are exactly the kinds of jobs that young people visiting the UK for a few years might take on, whether while studying, immersing themselves in our culture, or improving their grasp of our language.
“It suggests that this is a Government not serious about making the practical hard-headed choices that would greatly benefit the UK economy and labour market in the long-term, stimulating growth and improving the lives of British people.”
We will not give a running commentary on the negotiations
According to data from ABTA, the number of UK workers in holiday roles in the EU had decreased from 11,970 in 2017 to 3,700 in 2023, a drop of 69%.
Responding to previous calls for a youth mobility scheme, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said last October that “we will not return to freedom of movement”, but added that the Government was “committed to finding constructive ways of working together and delivering for the British people”.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister for EU relations, also vowed last year not to return to freedom of movement as he said: “We will not give a running commentary on the negotiations.”
The Bill is scheduled for debate on July 25, but it is unlikely to progress in its current form due to a lack of parliamentary time.
