UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has renegotiated the terms of Britain’s brexit deal, easing continental agrifood and energy trade, while facilitating greater mobility for young people. Robbie Hodges reports 

In the nine years since the Brexit referendum, Britain’s bumpy exit from the European Union has been marked by a dramatically shrinking economy, made worse by the Covid pandemic. A report by Cambridge Econometrics published in 2024 forecast that the deal could ultimately result in three million fewer jobs and 32% less investment by 2035. 

But a new renegotiation of the extant deal, executed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, points to a brighter future. One of the main points of interest for travel brands is for the free movement of people – specifically that of young people. 

In the original Brexit agreement, Britain was removed from the university Erasmus exchange programme which enables European students to easily live and study abroad. Under the new agreement, both Britain and the EU have agreed to work together on reinstating the programme along with a new youth mobility scheme which will allow young people access to the EU through work, study, au pair or travel. 

Those who exceed the cutoff age of 30 will continue to face restrictions on freedom of movement, meaning Britons must still qualify for certain employment visas before relocating to European countries. Still, the development promises to recoup some of Brexit’s economic losses.  

The most recent annual survey conducted by VisitBritain, the UK’s official tourism board, revealed that spending remains far lower than in 2019 – the last year before the UK left the European Union. While most European markets have seen a return to pre-pandemic levels of tourism, the UK continues to lag behind. 

While the board forecasts a total spend of £33.7 billion by the end of 2025, which is 19% higher than foreign tourist spend in 2019, that figure amounts to a 9% loss in real revenue when inflation is taken into consideration. 

The breadth of the deal is far wider than mobility, however. Another key development for hotel operators is the removal of restrictions on agrifood trade, which will make it easier for some foods like shellfish to be exported to the EU – a move that will help to reaffirm the UK’s reputation on the European food scene.

According to the UK government, the reset deal could boost the nation's economy by £9bn a year by 2040. That figure only constitutes an estimated 0.3% in GDP uplift, but an overall more favourable outcome than pursuing independence from the EU.