Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected claims that dropping the mandatory requirement for a digital ID card to prove the right to work is yet another U-turn, as the government faces accusations of chaos from the Conservatives.
Late on Tuesday, it emerged that a key plank of the digital ID plan had been rolled back: the proposal to make the document compulsory for proving eligibility to work would instead allow other forms of digital identification, such as an e-passport or e-visa. Downing Street described the change as a technical tweak, but it removes the only compulsory element, significantly softening the scheme.
Speaking on ITV on Wednesday, Starmer insisted: “You will be checked. Those checks will be digital. And they will be mandatory. What we’re now doing is consulting on exactly what that might look like.” He denied a U-turn, saying the overriding aim is to stop people working illegally.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch mocked Starmer, saying he was “blowing around like a plastic bag in the wind, no sense of direction whatsoever”. She called digital ID a “rubbish policy” and welcomed the latest policy reversal.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves played down the change, telling BBC Breakfast it makes little difference whether the ID is a card, e-visa or e-passport, as long as it is digital. Business Secretary Peter Kyle added that by 2029, digital checks will link biometric data to identity, allowing instant verification of work eligibility.
