Who or what is Keir Starmer afraid of? Having secured a landslide victory in July, he won't have to face voters for another five years. The right-wing media will attack him and the Labor Party regardless of what he says or does, but he can afford to ignore them. Meanwhile, surveys consistently show that a majority of Britons agree that Brexit was a disaster. Yet Sir Keir refuses to even begin to consider a measurable, controllable, EU-UK youth mobility plan that would be of great benefit to the young people who will one day take charge of this country.・Forcing Starmer to open doors) On October 1st, when the Prime Minister heads to Brussels, he takes part in a youth movement program.
In the context of the overall immigration situation, the potential number is negligible. What matters is not residence, but exchange. But as a symbol of the change that Labor claims to represent, and as an investment in future generations and as a rebuttal to the horrifying parochial nationalism that brought us Brexit, agreeing to it means that Britain is tolerant and free. This will be the signal to start returning to your normal posture. We welcome dialogue with our closest neighbors and allies. So what's stopping Sir Keir?
don keller
Harringay, London
Your editorial (October 2) says Mr Starmer is absolutely right to say that resetting the relationship with the EU will require “courage and candor”. And he needs common sense, too, as Zoe Williams says (Starmer is boxing himself across Europe – and putting approval ratings above young people's futures, October 4) ). He could use his position of authority to push a reframed narrative about the value of ties to Europe, the benefits of immigration and the need for safe and legal routes for asylum seekers.
He also needs to make the case that the UK already has more than a dozen youth mobility schemes around the world, so why not also working with Europe? I fear that Starmer's pattern may be to capitulate to a xenophobic agenda of reform and a right-wing press on immigration. A worrying lesson from Europe is that parties that try to emulate the far right will eventually be devoured by it.
gideon ben tovim
university of liverpool
My daughter is a musician who lives and works in the Netherlands and started her career after graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in London and doing a year of postgraduate study in Germany. All of this happened well before Brexit. She was able to progress from the Norfolk Youth Orchestra to the National Youth Orchestra to the European Youth Orchestra without any restrictions on her movement. I think a lot of young people today want to have that kind of opportunity, whether it's in the arts or other professions.
As far as the EU is concerned, I am increasingly disappointed in Keir Starmer's greed for far-right populism. Young people's free movement should not be hindered or even considered. He shouldn't be afraid of what Farage and others will think. Indeed, any self-respecting center-left politician should consider criticism from such quarters a badge of honor.
Meanwhile, once the EU's new immigration system kicks in, I'll soon be fingerprinted just to go see my daughter. How many Brexit voters will enjoy the border queues and travel restrictions they effectively voted for when flying to their destination? The next holiday is in the EU. Mr Starmer should think ahead. Brexit will become more unpopular, not more unpopular.
chris green
norwich
