Labour has dropped plans to make digital ID compulsory for workers, in its 11th U turn since entering government.
Under the change, migrants will no longer be forced to use a virtual identity card to prove their right to work when the scheme is introduced. The rest of the digital ID plans, pencilled in for 2029, were already voluntary.
The retreat follows mounting criticism from across politics and the public. As recently as September, Sir Keir Starmer said migrants would “not be able to work in the United Kingdom” without digital ID.
Ministers now say digital ID will not be mandatory when right to work checks first go live, though they have not ruled out making it compulsory later.
A source said there would still be “mandatory digital checks” because the current paper based system is more vulnerable to abuse, but stressed that this did not automatically mean a compulsory digital ID card.
Another Government source said the mandatory element “was stopping conversation about what digital IDs could be used for generally”.
They added:
“Stepping back from mandatory use cases will deflate one of the main points of contention. We do not want to risk there being cases of some 65 year old in a rural area being barred from working because he hasn’t installed the ID.”
The reversal is the latest in a string of policy retreats. In recent weeks, Sir Keir has backed away from plans to hike business rates for hospitality firms and diluted proposals to raise inheritance tax on farms. Last year, ministers abandoned planned cuts to personal independence payments and the winter fuel allowance.
Earlier on Tuesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the Government’s New Year’s resolution should be to get things right “first time”.
The digital ID scheme has also been plagued by rows over money. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimated the cost at £1.8bn, a figure ministers rejected. Chancellor Rachel Reeves declined to fund the project in her latest Spending Review, leaving departments to cover the cost from existing budgets.
Scrapping the mandatory element is a blow to Labour’s efforts to sell the scheme as a key tool to tackle illegal immigration.
When launching the plans, Sir Keir said:
“I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country. A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this Government is listening and delivering.”
Public support has since slumped. Polling showed net backing falling from 35 per cent in early summer to minus 14 per cent shortly after the plans were announced. An online petition opposing the scheme attracted almost three million signatures, with critics warning it threatened civil liberties.
Chief Secretary Darren Jones insisted the policy would recover, saying he was “positive” public opinion would improve within a year.
Opposition parties seized on the reversal. Conservatives said the scheme was “set to become yet another costly, ill thought out experiment abandoned at the first sign of pressure from Labour’s backbenches”.
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.”
The Liberal Democrats also welcomed the move, saying No 10 “must be bulk ordering motion sickness tablets at this rate to cope with all their U turns”.
A Government spokesman said ministers remained committed to digital right to work checks and would set out details after a public consultation.
“We are committed to mandatory digital right to work checks,” he said. “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.”
