English UK lobbying at the Labour conference
Party conferences are a great opportunity to reach MPs and pick up on political trends. English UK's membership director Huan Japes headed to Liverpool for the Labour Party Conference.
Huan was particularly interested in what could happen next with the proposed EU youth mobility deal. He was also keen to reconnect with the Coastal Labour MP group, whose members represent many of our member centres.
Worthwhile engagement
"It was a worthwhile engagement opportunity for us and important to be there and be part of the debate on areas such as an EU youth mobility deal."
During his time in Liverpool, Huan attended meetings of the Labour Movement for Europe, the Coastal Labour MPs and two Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) events.
- Huan took the opportunity to push for a meeting in Thanet with constituency MP Polly Billington, chair of the coastal group of Labour MPs.
- On the EU youth mobility scheme (YES), many Labour MPs said that it was now ready for implementation and could potentially be concluded at the proposed EU-UK summit before the end of 2026. MPs in the Labour Movement for Europe group see it as a key statement of intent in developing EU-UK relations and meeting key EU demands on youth mobility. However, they cautioned that there was a risk of YES becoming tied up in wider trade negotiations, leading to delays. English UK will push for swift negotiations.
- While some MPs were keen to set out a pathway to rejoin the EU in the short to medium term, expert Anand Menon warned that there were many barriers to quick action. The expectation is that the government will aim for a more gradual approach during the current parliament.
- The HEPI meetings highlighted opportunities for the UK following student caps introduced by Canada, Australia and the USA. They also called for closer alignment from the Home Office on implementing the International Education Strategy, which aims to raise education exports to £40 billion by 2030.
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