The British government has abandoned a plan to require people employed in the UK to register for a digital ID to prove their legal right to work. According to the latest adjustments, by 2029, employers will still fully switch to digital methods for "right to work in the UK" review, such as through biometric passport verification, but whether to register for the government's newly launched digital ID card project will become voluntary rather than mandatory.
This shift is in sharp contrast to the tough stance taken when the policy was announced last year. Prime Minister Keir Starmer made it clear in a public speech at the time that "if you don't have a digital ID, you can't work in the UK, it's that simple." Now, the government's decision to no longer require holding a digital ID as a prerequisite for employment has been described by the leader of the opposition as another major "policy U-turn."
Conservative Party leader Kemi Bednock said that "I finally got rid of it, this is a bad policy" and called the Labor Party's move "another U-turn". Since taking office, the government has made adjustments or backed down on a number of issues, including welfare reform, cuts in winter fuel subsidies, and inheritance tax arrangements for farmers, making "policy repetition" gradually become a focus of criticism.
The government initially defended mandatory digital IDs by emphasizing that the measure would help combat illegal employment, especially for immigrants without legal status. The current plan has been repositioned, no longer focusing solely on immigration control, but highlighting the convenience and practical value of digital identity when the public accesses various public services.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told a BBC radio program that the government remains "absolutely committed" to implementing mandatory "right to work in the UK" checks through digital means, including through means such as biometric passports. She explained that digital ID cards can be used as a way to complete digital verification, but it is not the only way, and criticized the current inspection mechanism based on paper documents as "both fragmented and lacking records", which makes it difficult to effectively target companies that employ illegal workers, thus weakening the pertinence of law enforcement.
Lord Blanket, the former home secretary who pushed for physical ID cards in the Labor government, said the government had not clearly explained the importance of the policy and how it would work, so the current shift was "not surprising". He believes that the lack of systematic argumentation and supporting propaganda after the original statement prevented supporters from constructing a complete narrative, while opponents were able to use various reasons to quickly mobilize public opinion online, putting the project under tremendous pressure.
Opinion polls show that after Starmer stated that "you can't work without a digital ID", public support for digital IDs plummeted from just over half in June to less than a third thereafter. Opposition is also concentrated in institutional channels. Nearly three million people have signed a joint petition against the introduction of digital IDs on the parliamentary petition website.
Within the Labor Party, some MPs have also had reservations about "mandatory" digital IDs. No matter how specific policy adjustments are viewed, many Labor MPs are increasingly dissatisfied with the government's frequent U-turns. Some are worried that just after they have defended a controversial policy to voters, the government may soon overturn the original proposal, resulting in political risks borne by grassroots MPs.
An angry Labor MP described the change of formation to the BBC as "a complete car accident" and criticized the Prime Minister's Office team for "jumping in without thinking, taking the parliamentary group up the mountain, and finally retreating from the battle, getting scolded in vain and gaining nothing." The Liberal Democrats said the policy was "doomed from the start" and called for "billions of pounds" originally earmarked for the mandatory digital ID project to be redirected to the National Health Service (NHS) and frontline police forces.
Liberal Democratic Party Cabinet Office spokesperson Lisa Smart said sarcastically, "With this frequency of U-turns, the Prime Minister's Office may have to purchase motion sickness medicine in bulk." Farage, the leader of the Reform UK Party, posted on the social platform Green Party leader Zach Polanski also welcomed X, saying bluntly, "It's good that the government has made a U-turn on the ID card issue."
In the face of criticism, a government spokesman reiterated the authority's "firm commitment to implementing mandatory digital 'right to work' checks". The spokesman said that the current intertwined system of various paper certificates "lacks unified records and is prone to fraud and abuse", and digital identities will make daily life more convenient and make public services more personalized, collaborative and effective, while still remaining inclusive.
Under current regulations, employers must check whether employees are legally eligible to work in the UK before hiring them. Since 2022, employers have been able to conduct online verification of British and Irish job seekers holding passports through government-certified digital verification services; for some non-British and non-Irish citizens whose immigration status is recorded electronically, the Home Office also provides an online verification system.
As for how the future digital ID will work, details have not yet been fully announced, but it is widely expected that the system will be based on the two platforms developed by the government, "Gov.uk One Login" and "Gov.uk Wallet". More than 12 million people have registered to use One Login, which is used for online services such as applying for veterans' cards, reporting lost passports or managing durable power of attorney; and the Gov.uk Wallet, which has not yet been officially launched, is designed to allow the public to store digital identities on their smartphones.
According to current assumptions, the digital ID card will contain core information such as name, date of birth, nationality, residence status and photo. The government hopes that as the system gradually matures and service scenarios expand, more people will voluntarily choose digital identities so that they can enjoy more convenient digital processes when applying for jobs, applying for certificates, and using various public services, instead of relying on various scattered paper documents.