Keir Starmer is beginning work in earnest on a Brexit “reset” following his thrashing in local elections last week. Negotiations were paused in an effort to avoid criticism while Labour campaigned for last week’s elections but they are to resume this week ready for a major summit on May 19 when an outline deal between the UK and EU could be agreed.

The EU is demanding a Youth Mobility Scheme giving UK and EU citizens aged 30 and under the right to live and work in each others’ countries for up to four years. They also want EU fishing vessels to have more access to British waters. In return, Sir Keir wants a new security pact with the EU, changes to the EU’s import rules making it easier for British firms to sell food on the Continent and measures simplifying electricity imports and exports.

A week of intensive talks between British and EU negotiators will begin tomorrow after Sir Keir’s government reportedly insisted no firm details could be agreed until local elections were out of the way.

Website Politico reports one EU official said: “It seems like there’s a bit of a deadlock, especially when it comes to tuition fees and quotas ... discussions with the UK are planned all of next week.”

But EU nations are determined that a youth mobility scheme should be part of he deal. The official said: “Most of them really pushed on youth mobility,”

The Government has been reluctant to sign up to a Youth Mobility Scheme due to fears it would increase the UK’s immigration figures but Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has come round to the idea of a “one in, one out” policy that could keep numbers down.

It is unlikely that every detail will be agreed by May 19 but Sir Keir hopes to show that progress has been made.

Labour lost close to two thirds of the council seats it was defending in last week’s local elections, ending up with 98 council seats after losing 187, as well as losing the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. Conservatives also suffered huge loses while Reform were the biggest winners and Liberal Democrats also made gains.

Some Labour MPs have warned Sir Keir that he must embrace Brexit in order to restore his party’s fortunes. Labour MP Dan Carden said it is “now life or death” for the Government and the party.

The leader of the Blue Labour group of MPs said: “We believe the party can still be saved – if it remembers who it was built for. We believe Keir Starmer could be a great prime minister.”

Writing in The Mail on Sunday he called on Labour to “grasp the opportunities” of Brexit and close half of universities and turn them into vocational colleges.