List of government U-turns as digital ID plans set to be scrapped
The government appears to have abandoned its flagship mandatory digital ID policy, marking a significant reversal since the general election.
Plans for a mandatory digital ID system for right-to-work checks were reportedly thrown into disarray on Tuesday.
Times He noted that ministers are now considering alternatives that would allow other digital documents to fulfill the requirement.
This potential change is the latest in a series of government U-turns.
It had previously scaled back major welfare reforms following pressure from backbenchers.
It also partially reduced inheritance tax on farms after intense lobbying in the agricultural sector, resulting in a pattern of policy adjustments.
Here are some of the U-turns:
Business fee discounts for bars
The Treasury is now understood to be preparing a support package for the pub sector, following outcry over the impact of a major rise in business rates which signaled a major U-turn in the 26 November budget plans.
It follows pressure from Labor supporters and is the latest policy aimed at increasing tax or saving money that would otherwise be abandoned or diluted in the face of opposition.
Ministers had set up a £4.3bn fund to help pubs transition to higher rates, but it is understood Chancellor Rachel Reeves will soon announce additional support, including further cuts to business rates and measures to reduce licensing bureaucracy.
Inheritance tax for farmers
On 23 December, the Government announced it would increase the threshold for inheritance tax relief for farmers from £1 million to £2.5 million, after months of protests.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the change to reforms announced in Labour’s first budget last year came after ministers “listened to the concerns” of the farming community and businesses.
The original Treasury’s plans to raise money while passing farmers’ jobs down from generation to generation triggered protests, along with the use of tractors outside parliament and criticism from some rural Labor MPs.
Two child allowance limit
The government announced in its autumn budget that the two-child limit will be removed from April.
Seven Labor MPs were previously suspended for voting against the Government in support of motions to abolish it.
The cap prevented parents from claiming universal credit or tax credits for more than their first two children.
It was introduced by the Conservative government in 2017 and was widely criticized by Labor MPs and anti-poverty advocacy groups.
The move is estimated to cost £3bn by 2029-30, according to the OBR.
First day workers’ rights
In November, ministers scrapped a proposal to reduce the “qualification period” for workers to claim unfair dismissal from 24 months to the first day in a new job, in order to pass the law through Parliament.
The government now plans to introduce a six-month service entitlement instead; Other first-day rights, parental leave and sick pay, will continue to come into force in April 2026.
The concession comes after some businesses raised concerns about potential costs and recruitment difficulties.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faced anger in the background as some ministers claimed the U-turn breached Labour’s manifesto.
Labour’s manifesto explicitly promised “full consultation with business, workers and civil society on how to implement our plans before legislation is passed”.
“This will include banning exploitative zero-hours contracts, ending redundancy and rehiring, and introducing basic rights such as parental leave, sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal from day one,” he said.
bumblebee women
In November, Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden announced ministers would reconsider their decision to compensate so-called Waspi women.
The group Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) claims they were affected by the way changes to the state pension age were reported.
The group said ministers had committed to using “best efforts” to reassess potential compensation within 12 weeks, or by February 24, and pay more than half of Waspi’s legal costs.
A report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) last year suggested compensation ranging from £1,000 to £2,950 for each of those affected could be appropriate.
But in December 2024 the Government said a blanket compensation scheme that could cost taxpayers up to £10.5bn could not be justified, although it accepted the ombudsman’s finding of mismanagement and apologized in writing to women born in the 1950s for the delay.
national insurance
The government’s budget decision to extend the freeze on national insurance thresholds for three years has led many to accuse Labor of breaching its manifesto commitments on tax.
Labour’s 2024 election manifesto said: “Labour will not increase taxes on workers, so we will not increase national insurance, basic, higher or additional income tax rates or VAT.”
The government said Labour’s commitments in the manifesto only applied to income tax and national insurance contribution rates and so extending the threshold freeze did not break its commitment.
Income tax
In the autumn budget the Government abandoned plans to increase income tax and instead extended the freeze on thresholds; This meant that millions of people were forced to pay higher rates under previous extensions.
Ministers said the changes in the autumn statement, which included increasing total taxes to £26bn, were “fair and necessary” to help reduce the cost of living and improve public services.
Benefit cuts
In the week marking Sir Keir’s first anniversary at Number 10, the Prime Minister scrapped some of the Government’s proposed welfare reforms in the face of a backlash.
A U-turn in July 2025 saw changes to Pip eligibility removed from the Government’s benefits legislation, following warnings from rebel Labor MPs about the impact it would have on disabled claimants.
The ongoing review into Pip, led by Social Security and Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms, is expected to report by the autumn, but the Government has said an interim update is expected before then.
Investigation into maintenance gangs
A national debate about gang grooming was sparked in January last year after tech billionaire Elon Musk used social media platform X to launch a barrage of attacks on Sir Keir and conservation minister Jess Phillips.
It follows the Government’s decision to reject Oldham Council’s request for a Whitehall-led investigation into child sexual abuse in the town.
While Sir Keir resisted calls for a national inquiry for months, the Government insisted on implementing outstanding recommendations already made by Professor Alexis Jay in a seven-year national inquiry.
However, in June 2025, Sir Keir confirmed there would be a statutory investigation into the grooming gang scandal.
Baroness Anne Longfield will lead the inquiry with a budget of £65 million over three years, the Home Secretary announced in December.
Winter fuel payments
In May last year, Starmer announced a partial U-turn on his previous decision to severely restrict payments through means testing, opting instead to give the payment to all pensioners except those earning over £35,000 a year.
trans rights
Following the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of woman in April last year, the Prime Minister appeared to backtrack on his previous stance on transgender rights.
In March 2022, Sir Keir said before entering No 10: “A woman is an adult woman and by extension trans women are women and that is not just my opinion, it is actually the law.”
But after the judges’ ruling on April 16, he told ITV West Country: “A woman is a grown woman and the court has made that absolutely clear.”
