The Labour Party in the UK has recommitted to bringing down net migration figures from “record high levels”, after its mayor of London called for a youth mobility scheme with European partners.
London mayor, Sadiq Khan, in an interview with The Observer, said that young people should be able to move freely to and from the EU – an opportunity that ended when the UK left the bloc.
“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 paper.
“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.”
While Labour leader Keir Starmer was said to have known about Khan’s comments and did not try to block them, a spokesperson for Labour said that it was not official party policy.
Immigration is never a devolved policy area, a spokeswoman for Labour told i.
“There has already been a big increase in young people coming to the UK to study over the last few years alongside a big increase in work migration because of the Tories failure to tackle skills shortages,” she said.
“Labour believes that net migration needs to come down from its record high levels.”
Last year, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, told The Guardian that if the party wins the next election, it will cut net migration to a “couple of hundred thousand a year” within its first term. The latest figures show it hit a record 745,000 in 2022.
The policy is expected to mean that those calling for international students to be removed from migration figures, such as English UK and UUKi, will need to keep up their lobbying on the matter. The international education sector is keen to understand Labour’s policy on higher education and plan if it wins the next election.
Polls suggest that Labour is set to win a landslide when the next vote takes place.
“Labour believes that net migration needs to come down from its record high levels”
Khan has previously called for young people to have more opportunities in the UK’s capital. In 2017 – before the Graduate Route visa was announced – he proposed a new post-study work visa for international students.
He was also one of seven regional mayors in 2018 pressing for “a more open and welcoming message to international students”.
The Home Office has said it is looking at the possibility of some form of youth mobility scheme, The Observer added.
The current UK Youth Mobility Scheme visa allows 18 to 35-year-olds from New Zealand and 18 to 30-year-olds from Australia, Canada, Monaco, San Marino and Iceland to live and work in the country for up to two years.
A separate India Young Professionals Scheme visa allows young Indian citizens – announced in 2022 and selected by ballot – a similar opportunity.
Labour has also “absolutely” ruled out rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union, the spokesperson added.
“Making Brexit work means improving on the botched deal with a stronger collaborative relationship with our neighbours.”
