As the government struggles to maintain its popularity with the public, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that plans to introduce digital ID cards have been scrapped
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of “spinelessness” amid reports the Government was preparing to water down its digital ID proposals. This comes as Labour struggles to regain its popularity following a string of debacles and the rise of Reform UK.
The Prime Minister last year said Labour would introduce a digital ID system that would be voluntary in most cases but mandatory for right-to-work checks. But the plans were thrown into confusion on Tuesday night (January 13) after The Times reported ministers were rowing back on the compulsory element, allowing other digital documents to be used for right-to-work checks.
A Government spokesman insisted ministers were still “committed to mandatory digital right-to-work checks“, but declined to say whether this would still require digital ID. Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said: “While we welcome the scrapping of any mandatory identification, this is yet another humiliating U-turn from the Government.
“Keir Starmer’s spinelessness is becoming a pattern, not an exception,” he added whilst speaking to the Press Association. “What was sold as a tough measure to tackle illegal working is now set to become yet another costly, ill-thought-out experiment abandoned at the first sign of pressure from Labour’s backbenches.”
This latest U-turn is the 13th of this Labour Government and comes after the Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who is understood to have leadership ambitions, told a conference today that ministers should aim to make the right decision the first time round. Speaking at the Institute for Government conference in London, he said: “In the NHS, we have an initiative called Girft – get it right first time. “That should be our new year’s resolution for 2026 – let’s try and get it right first time.”
A Government spokesman said: “We are committed to mandatory digital right-to-work checks. We have always been clear that details on the digital ID scheme will be set out following a full public consultation which will launch shortly.
“Digital ID will make everyday life easier for people, ensuring public services are more personal, joined-up, and effective, while also remaining inclusive.” Sir Keir first announced plans to introduce digital ID on the eve of last year’s Labour Party conference, saying they would be mandatory for anyone working in the UK.
The plans were sold as a way of deterring illegal immigration by making it harder to work illegally in Britain. He told the Global Progress Action Summit in London in September: “Let me spell it out: you will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID.”
But on Tuesday, Government officials insisted it had always been the case that details of the digital ID scheme would be set out after a consultation. Meanwhile, the Times quoted a Government source saying that “stepping back from mandatory-use cases will deflate one of the main points of contention”.
Support for digital ID collapsed in the wake of Sir Keir’s announcement, falling from 53% in June to just 31% in October. Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart said: “Number 10 must be bulk ordering motion sickness tablets at this rate to cope with all their U-turns.
“It was clear right from the start this was a proposal doomed to failure. That it would have cost obscene amounts of taxpayers’ money to deliver absolutely nothing.”
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