Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has given his strongest signal yet that a youth mobility scheme could form part of a new deal with the EU.
Speaking to the Times ahead of a summit on Monday between the bloc and the UK, he insisted such a scheme would not amount to a return to pre-Brexit freedom of movement.
While Sir Keir said it would be a "reciprocal" arrangement in which young people would be able to move abroad for up to two years, no specific details about the ages of those who could be eligible and whether there would be a cap on numbers were given.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has described the possible scheme as "free movement through the back door".
"We're not against youth mobility schemes. We're against uncapped migration schemes," she wrote on X.
Reform UK has echoed these sentiments. Its deputy leader, Richard Tice, said earlier this week such a scheme would be "the thin end" to EU free movement.
Sir Keir has denied these accusations, saying that Labour has a "red line in our manifesto about freedom of movement" and that "youth mobility is not freedom of movement".
An agreement is expected to be announced at Monday's summit, which is being held at London's Lancaster House.
The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg has been told that it will only be an agreement in principle, not the final deal.
She understands that the EU has been pushing for stays as long as four years, while the UK is not contemplating more than one or two.
In fresh comments on Saturday evening ahead of the summit, Sir Keir said "a strengthened partnership" with the EU would "be good for our jobs, good for our bills and good for our borders".
