Starmer: I want a reset with Europe

A youth mobility deal has been suggested by Brussels and could be a key demand in any negotiations, but Starmer reiterated that there are “no plans” for such a scheme.

Asked if he was serious about an EU reset following criticism from Brussels over the youth mobility scheme, the Prime Minister said: “I am very serious.

“I think that’s clear enough from the work we’ve done in the last few weeks since the election.

“We made this very clear initially at the Washington summit with European colleagues, the NATO summit at the European political community, which we hosted.

“And then obviously, as you’ve seen, I’ve been to Berlin twice, Paris twice. I was with the Taoiseach (Simon Harris) last Saturday. We’re very serious.

“Obviously, there’s still a long way to go.”

Starmer continued: “I want to be ambitious about what we can achieve in resetting the EU.

“This does not mean returning to the EU, this does not mean returning to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement. So there are red lines in this framework.”

He insisted that the negotiation “must be done properly”.

Pressed on the youth mobility scheme, he said “we have no plans to do the youth mobility scheme”. He also declined to explain his objections to the scheme or whether it might come up as a negotiating point. Asked if he was “excluded”, he repeated: “we have no plans for a youth mobility scheme”.