For all Sir Keir Starmer’s repeated insistence that the UK won’t make any concessions on a European Union youth mobility scheme, he knows it is the key to unlocking any changes to Britain’s Brexit deal.

That’s why a chummy trip to see Germany’s Olaf Scholz in Berlin to begin talks on a new co-operation agreement aimed at boosting trade, creating jobs and delivering economic growth in both countries was dominated by questions on whether Starmer plans to give young people in the EU the right to live and work in the UK, and vice versa.

While Starmer has been adamant he won’t oversee a return to the free movement of people, the idea of a youth mobility scheme – which would allow EU citizens under 30 to work and study for a fixed period in the UK – is a key ask from the bloc to unlock UK demands.

The UK wants to negotiate changes such as border checks on food products and reducing paperwork for touring artists. Starmer also wants to broker a security pact with the EU, as well as a new returns agreement for failed asylum seekers.

But with voters citing immigration as a key concern during the election, Starmer knows to cave now and allow a youth mobility scheme would prompt a howl of anguish from voters. They include traditional Labour voters who only lent their votes to Boris Johnson to get Brexit done and migration down.

“We do not have plans for a youth mobility scheme but [we] do have........

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