Time to lift the self-imposed drawbridge and allow young people from Europe to work here - Yorkshire Post Letters

There is much to admire in the level-headed and pragmatic range of proposals put forward by Timothy Kirkhope (The YP March 27) to improve Britain's relationship with the EU.

Kirkhope comments favourably on Britain having rejoined the EU Horizon and Copernicus programmes but surprisingly doesn't call for our return to the highly successful Erasmus student exchange programme. Yet such a move potentially benefiting hundreds of thousands of UK students appears widely supported.

Readers might reflect on the irony of His Majesty's subjects in Northern Ireland still availing themselves of this scheme...courtesy of the government of the Irish Republic.

His report also mentions the youth mobility visa. I suggest that these visas be extended at minimal cost and on a reciprocal basis to everyone aged 19 through 30 from all EEA countries as a way of both meeting staff shortages and providing life-enhancing social, cultural and linguistic opportunities.

My wife and I were fortunate recently to visit Barcelona and be reminded of just how attractive a litter free European city with a comprehensive public transport network can be.

In one restaurant we met a multilingual student from Finland enjoying exercising her rights under freedom of movement to work in Catalonia. Rights that have cruelly been taken from British youth.

The vice-chancellor of Leeds University and the manager of Leeds United are Dutch and German respectively and doing an excellent job. No one objects to that.

It's now time to lift the self-imposed drawbridge and allow young people from across Europe the chance to work here and my growing grandchildren the chance to work there.