Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to face MPs at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, 14 January 2026, following a significant policy reversal by his government on digital identity documents.
Another Major Policy Shift
The Labour government has signalled it will no longer make its flagship digital ID scheme mandatory for checking an individual's right to work in the UK. This marks the latest in a series of high-profile U-turns since the party took office.
The climbdown emerged just hours after Health Secretary Wes Streeting told a London conference that ministers should aim to "get it right first time." It follows last week's decision to provide extra support for pubs facing steep business rate increases.
From Crackdown to Consultation
Sir Keir initially announced the plan on the eve of the 2025 Labour Party conference, stating that people "will not be able to work in the United Kingdom" without a digital ID as part of a drive against illegal immigration.
However, on Tuesday, government officials insisted it had always been intended that the details of the digital ID scheme would be finalised after a public consultation. A government spokesman 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."
The spokesman added: "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."
Opposition Seizes on 'Retreat'
While welcoming the decision, opposition parties were quick to criticise the government's change of direction. Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: "Labour's only consistent policy is retreat and it's the public that are paying the price for a government defined by reversal."
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart suggested "Number 10 must be bulk ordering motion sickness tablets at this rate to cope with all their U-turns." She added that the proposal was "doomed to failure" and would have wasted taxpayer money.
The policy shift leaves open the possibility that digital right-to-work checks could use other forms of identification, with the specific digital ID programme becoming entirely voluntary. Public support for digital ID collapsed following Sir Keir's original announcement, plummeting from 53% in June 2025 to just 31% by October 2025.
