Europe: Youth Mobility

Lord Watson of Invergowrie Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

My Lords, it is an honour and a particular pleasure for me to follow the maiden speech of my noble friend Lord Moraes. We share something, inasmuch as we spent our early years in the fine city of Dundee. I notice that the noble Earl, Lord Dundee, is here today. I am not sure that he can say he spent his early years in the city of Dundee, but there we are.

My title, and that of my noble friend Lord Moraes, reflect that city’s heritage. For those noble Lords who do not know, although it is not visible, his title is Baron Moraes, of Hawkhill in the City of Dundee. Hawkhill is one of the longest-established thoroughfares in the city and contains much of his alma mater, the University of Dundee. It also contains a lot of hostelries in which he and I—at different times and at different ages, because we were a decade apart in our early years in Dundee—found much pleasure and often had some raucous nights out.

As my noble friend said, after he left university he came to London. It is important to note that he is qualified to practise in Scots and English law, which is not something that all that many people accomplish. He has achieved a wide experience over the years. I think it is appropriate that, having come here to act as a humble researcher to two MPs—now the noble Lords, Lord Boateng and Lord Reid of Cardowan—he now enters your Lordships’ House on an equal basis with them. It is very well merited.

My noble friend outlined his work, particularly as a national officer with the Trades Union Congress. This is nothing to do with my noble friend, but he mentioned an anecdote about the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, effectively being on two sides of the fence. It reminds me of the time when I was a full-time trade union official. One of my colleagues submitted a claim for pay and conditions to a particular company. Soon after, he joined that company in the department where he had to answer his own claim—which he did not do in full. It was similar to the situation with the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope.

My noble friend Lord Moraes has gained many awards for the work he has carried out—most notably, of course, the OBE. He mentioned having been warmly greeted by many Scottish Members of both Houses in the months since he joined us. It is appropriate to say that not many of them realised his Scottish roots until they heard his dulcet tones. It brings to mind the phrase, “Ye can tak’ the laddie oot of Scotland, but ye cannae tak’ Scotland oot of the laddie”. That is very much the case as far as my noble friend Lord Moraes is concerned. It is a pleasure to have him here. I am sure that noble Lords will join me in looking forward to the many powerful contributions he will make to debates and to the wider work of your Lordships.

I commend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans on securing this important debate. As he said in his comprehensive opening speech, this is a topical subject that I sense is beginning to gain some traction. Last year, as we know, the European Commission announced a proposal to open negotiations with the UK on a youth mobility scheme for all EU citizens, which would give 18 to 30 year-olds the opportunity to work or study in the UK for up to four years and offer the equivalent entitlement to young people from the UK. The Commission stated that the proposal would not be a return to free movement because it would be time limited, but it would enable studying, training, working and travelling. However, that proposal did not get very far. Although the previous Government rejected it, it is only fair to say that the EU was insistent that it must apply to all EU member states and not just be on an individual basis. That was the rock on which it foundered at that time.

Young people who become involved in exchanges with EU countries would return home at the end of them. That is the purpose of these exchanges: to gain experience of living and working in another country but then, at the end of it, to return home and bring what experience they gain into their working life in this country. That is a straightforward premise and it is disingenuous, to say the least, to portray it as somehow amounting to freedom of movement, as some do. Those who do so are, I believe, fully aware that that is not the case, yet they continue with what is, in effect, a distortion to fan the flames for those who are naive enough to believe that there is some nefarious attempt to reintroduce freedom of movement by the backdoor.

Let us be clear: the EU has not approached the UK with a formal proposal regarding a reciprocal youth mobility scheme. Rather, it should be our Government making the approach, because to do so would benefit thousands of young people in the age group characterised as Gen Z. It was rather dispiriting to hear my noble friend say earlier today, during Oral Questions, that the Government have no plans to seek a youth mobility scheme. No doubt she is duty bound to repeat that at the end of this debate, which is regrettable. To maintain such a cautious stance is to dance to the tune of those who want to feed the fears of those willing to buy fake news about some form of weakening of our current position vis-à-vis the European Union.

As noble Lords may know, the Prime Minister is meeting EU leaders next week and No. 10 has briefed that it is an opportunity to discuss “enhanced strategic cooperation” with the EU. I suggest that a youth mobility scheme should be part of that and should be less complicated to agree than other areas, such as dismantling trade barriers.

Maroš Šefčovič, the European Union’s new trade chief responsible for post-Brexit negotiations, said recently that a pan-European customs area

“is something we could consider”

as part of a reset in discussions between the UK and the EU. That might enable the UK to join the pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention. That created quite a bit of media stushie—as we say in Scotland—but such an idea is, I believe, non-threatening to the outcome of the 2016 referendum. That is underscored by the fact that the noble Lord, Lord Frost, who is with us today, has effectively given it the green light. I do not think that it is in any way a threat.

That may help to open up possibilities for an EU-UK youth mobility scheme but, even it does not, it is not as though youth mobility schemes are in any way unusual for this country. We of course had them when we were part of the EU, as my noble friend Lord Moraes mentioned, and today the UK has a youth mobility visa open to people from 12 different countries, which involves a quota system for each. In 2023, the last year for which figures are available, about 23,000 people came to the UK under these agreements.

These youth mobility schemes provide valuable cultural exchange opportunities for Generation Z to experience life in another country for up to two or three years and then return home. Those participating in schemes are able to work if they wish to do so, which provides valuable opportunities that help to prepare them for working life. The schemes involve countries some distance from these shores; there should be an equivalent for countries nearer to home, including countries in the European Union.

For the benefit of journalists, some of whom seem to be easily alarmed, these schemes are not designed, nor intended, to be a route for economic growth or to address specific labour shortages. They are about giving young people the best early chances in their life and working life. Recent polling for Best for Britain showed that 59% of UK citizens thought that the Government should prioritise negotiating a reciprocal relationship with the EU for Gen Z, with only 15% disagreeing with that proposal.

Although the EU Commission proposal was for any new scheme to involve all member states, as I said earlier, this need not be a deal breaker. EU member states can reach bilateral agreements on labour mobility with non-EU countries, and it is surely much easier and swifter to strike a deal with one country than with the whole EU. The key will be the limits to any such agreement, but that would be the subject of negotiations. Surely, with good will on both sides, a suitable arrangement could be achieved.

The Government should review its position on this, develop a policy that stops finding reasons for not doing it and search, together with EU member states, for reasons for doing it. I urge my noble friend to convey this view to fellow Ministers, potentially as a first step towards the change that our young people need and deserve.