Yvette Cooper is said to be “open” to a youth mobility scheme with the EU on a “one in one out” basis.
Sources told The Times the Home Secretary is now supportive in principle of the plan provided it would be “capped” to ensure that there could be zero return to pre-Brexit freedom of movement.
A Home Office source told The Times: “Yvette’s primary objective is to reduce net migration and any discussion about visa schemes needs to be seen in that light. It needs very careful thought.”
Cooper had reportedly argued internally against a scheme allowing Europeans to stay for more than 12 months because of fears the arrivals would inflate migration figures.
However, the “one in one out scheme” would limit the annual numbers of young EU students allowed to come to the UK to a proportion of young Britons travelling to Europe.
A Home Office spokesman told The Times: “These are matters for the Cabinet Office. No proposals have been put to the home secretary or suggested by her.”
It comes after Starmer held talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen before a critical summit next month, aiming to reset Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU.
Reacting to the news, Conservative peer Ross Kempsell said: “You couldn’t make it up!”
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Lib Dems call for Police and Crime Commissioners to be scrapped with investment diverted to frontline policing
The Liberal Democrats have called for Police and Crime Commissioners to be scrapped with the savings directed to frontline policing.
Home Affairs Spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said: “It is completely scandalous that every single day, thousands of victims are denied the justice they deserve.
“This is the Conservative’s legacy of failure of crime. Every community should feel safe, and that means that if they are a victim of a crime, they can be confident that they will get the support they need.
“The Government cannot afford to dither and delay, they must crack down on unsolved crimes. This starts with a return to real community policing, to keep our neighbourhoods safe.”
Sir James Cleverly tolls GB News the Tories should stop ‘obsessing’ about Reform
Former home secretary James Cleverly spoke to GB News
PA
Former Home Secretary Sir James Cleverly has told GB News that the Conservatives should stop “obsessing” about Reform UK.
The former home secretary urged his party to address why people were backing Reform rather than trying to “calibrate (our) actions to respond to the existence of Reform.”
Speaking to Gloria De Piero, Cleverly, the MP for Braintree, said: “The question we ask ourselves is does Reform exist because of other things that have happened? And my contention is that it does.
“And so if we address the reasons why people are going to Reform, you don’t then need to address Reform. And this, I think, is what we need to do.
“There is a bigger issue than just Nigel Farage and one party. And if we make the mistake of obsessing about him and the one party, we will fail to address the underlying issues that are causing that disenchantment.”
