Pre-election, back in April, Labour went hard on rejecting proposals for a youth mobility deal with the EU. Journalists were told the party had “no plans for a youth mobility scheme” and Labour officials even said a deal would be “synonymous with freedom of movement.” Offers from the EU were rebuffed on the grounds they crossed Brexit “red lines“. Two months into government Downing Street confirmed again: “We are not considering this at all.” Categorical…

Now hacks are informed that there is a “landing zone” for negotiations to implement youth mobility as part of a “three pillar” approach to the reset. The EU ‘ambassador’ to the UK said yesterday that “it raises questions and concerns and some people mix it up with migration-related issues or mobility-related issues, whereas it has nothing to do with any of that.” Is it called a “mobility” scheme by accident then?

The government line is now:

“At some point you have to say well we want this and we will agree to this but there is no point doing that too soon before you have got other concessions.”

Labour explains away its u-turn by claiming it had to pretend not to be interested to get better terms during negotiations. No doubt a happy coincidence that they could falsely reassure a Brexit-voting electorate at the same time…