RACHEL Reeves has urged the PM to sign up to an “ambitious” deal to let young people from the EU live and work in Britain.
The Chancellor is scrambling to fill a £30 billion blackhole in the UK finances and hopes a youth mobility scheme will bring in some economic growth.
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But her words are likely to spark a fresh row over immigration and the unpicking of Brexit.
Earlier this week, new stats revealed a staggering 750,000 migrants moved to the UK in the year ending June 2024.
This is the equivalent of a city around the size of Leeds being added to the population.
Ms Reeves said she wants the the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the official forecaster, to “score” the EU reset when it rates the economy this autumn.
In an interview with The Times ahead of Labour Party conference, she said a youth mobility scheme would be “good for the economy, good for growth and good for business”.
She said: “We want the OBR to score it.
“They scored it when we left the European Union.
“They should score both the improved trade relationships that we’ve negotiated and this youth experience scheme.”
Ms Reeves is facing a £30 billion in the public finances ahead of the budget on November 26.
Taxes are expected to be hiked to help fill it.
The Labour government struck a reset deal with the EU earlier this year.
Both sides agreed to have a youth mobility scheme – which would allow young people from the EU to live and work here and vice versa.
But details of the plan and how many people will come to the UK under it have not been announced yet.
Clock is ticking on Reeves’ D-Day
By Ryan Sabey, Economics Editor
Rachel Reeves has given herself three months to help deliver for working people.
The Chancellor admits today that this sluggish economy just isn’t delivering for Brits.
Pointedly, she says the economy isn’t “broken” but the next 12 weeks are crunch time for the Treasury.
Businesses and individuals are crying out for more help after £40 billion tax raid last October.
The average person on the street is feeling like the pound in their pocket doesn’t go as far as it did a few years ago.
They are about to be hit by food costs going up and energy bills hiking as the winter months kick in
Business is still reeling from the £25 billion national insurance raid which is hitting their investment and hiring plans.
The Chancellor is in a very tight spot as borrowing costs rise that seems to be making her job harder by the day.
She will be calling on her Cabinet colleagues to pull their weight when it comes to ripping up red tape for business and enacting planning reforms.
Forecasts suggest she may have to find up to £50 billion to balance the books – which will inevitably lead to tax hikes at the Budget.
She will be sticking to her iron-clad fiscal rules – allowing the markets to breathe a little easier.
To get the UK economy on the right track will take time.
The trouble is, the public’s patience is running out quickly.
