“Another U-turn.”
Sir Keir Starmer has dropped plans for mandatory digital ID cards for workers, marking the government’s 13th policy reversal in just 18 months in office, an average of one every six weeks.
By the time 2029 comes around, right-to-work checks will be done digitally, such as via biometric passports, however, registering with the new digital ID programme will remain optional, per the BBC.
The policy shift is the latest in a series of U-turns since the government came to power, including retreats on welfare reforms, cuts to winter fuel payments and changes to inheritance tax for farmers.
This marks a major shift from when the government first announced the policy last year, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told an audience: “You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have a digital ID. It’s as simple as that.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has since said, “Good riddance. It was a terrible policy anyway.”
She went on to say that this latest move by Labour represents “another U-turn”.
At the time when the government first announced the policy plan, it argued that mandatory digital IDs for workers would make it easier to prevent immigrants from working illegally in the UK.
It is understood that the scheme will move away from a narrow focus on immigration, with the government instead emphasising digital ID as a practical tool to help the public access public services.
Darren Jones, the minister responsible for implementing the scheme, spoke about the issue at an Institute for Government conference earlier on Tuesday and said it would be a “route to the digital transformation of customer-facing public services”, per the BBC.
He went on to say that a consultation would be launched “very shortly”, adding: “I’m confident this time next year the polling will be in a much better place on digital ID than it is today.”
The policy has attracted a lot of criticism since it was announced last September, with close to three million people signing a parliamentary petition opposing the introduction of digital IDs.
Labour MPs have also expressed their dismay concerning the compulsory aspect of the original proposal, while the Liberal Democrats said the policy was “doomed to failure” from the start and called for “the billions of pounds earmarked for their mandatory digital ID scheme” to be spent “on the NHS and frontline policing instead”.
Lisa Smart, the party’s Cabinet Office spokesperson, said: “No 10 must be bulk ordering motion sickness tablets at this rate to cope with all their U-turns.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote on X: “This is a victory for individual liberty against a ghastly, authoritarian government. Reform UK would scrap it altogether,” while Green Party leader Zack Polanski welcomed the news in a post on X, saying: “The government have U-turned on ID cards. Good.”
A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to mandatory digital right to work checks.
“Currently, right-to-work checks include a hodgepodge of paper-based systems with no record of checks ever taking place. This is open to fraud and abuse.
“Digital ID will make everyday life easier for people, ensuring public services are more personal, joined-up, and effective, while also remaining inclusive.”
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