Keir Starmer has abandoned plans to make digital ID cards compulsory for workers. This marks the 13th significant reversal of his premiership and a quiet retreat from one of Labor’s most controversial post-election policies.
The digital ID system, originally intended to be central to Labour’s crackdown on illegal work and migration, will now be optional when it is introduced in 2029. Workers will instead be able to verify their right to work using existing documents such as passports or electronic visas.
The decision follows growing unrest within the cabinet and on the Labor backbenches, where ministers warned that mandatory digital ID cards could undermine public trust, alienate voters and spark internal rebellions. Government sources confirmed that concerns about cost, complexity and inclusivity ultimately led to a rethink.
Starmer had previously argued that mandatory digital IDs were essential to know “who is in our country” and to prevent illegal migrants from entering the underground economy. But officials now say the system is being repositioned as a convenience-focused service designed to simplify everyday interactions with the state, such as registering births and deaths, opening bank accounts, booking family doctor appointments and accessing public services.
Polls appear to have played a role in the reversal. Support for digital IDs fell sharply after Starmer portrayed them primarily as a migration enforcement tool. According to YouGov, public support fell from almost six in 10 voters to less than four in 10.
Cost was also a big sticking point. The Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated the program could cost up to £1.8 billion over three years, a figure the government disputes but refuses to replace with its own estimate. Critics in Whitehall warned that a mandatory system risked excluding older workers and those without digital access, particularly in rural areas.
Under the revised approach, work eligibility verification will remain mandatory for employers, but digital ID will be just one of several acceptable verification methods. A public consultation will examine how the system should work and what safeguards are needed to prevent exclusion or abuse.
A government spokesman said the move would help debunk conspiracy theories around digital IDs and government surveillance while still allowing ministers to modernize outdated, paper-intensive verification processes that are vulnerable to fraud.
The U-turn joins a growing list of policy regressions since Labor took office, including changes to business rates relief for pubs, a watering down of inheritance tax reforms for farmers and the watering down of employment law reforms.
Opposition figures seized on the latest shift as evidence of instability. The Conservatives accused Starmer of abandoning his flagship policies at the first sign of resistance, while the Liberal Democrats said the scale of the U-turns had become a defining feature of the government.
For the economy, the decision eliminates the prospect of a new mandatory compliance burden for employers, at least in the short term. But it also raises new questions about the government’s ability to implement comprehensive digital reforms without further setbacks.
