Exasperated Labour MPs lash out at Starmer over humiliating digital ID U-turn
Labor MPs are questioning whether Sir Keir Starmer, who has made another U-turn as prime minister by abandoning plans for mandatory digital ID, can stay in power.
The government has reversed course on policy issues at least 11 times so far, including raising the threshold for inheritance tax relief for farmers after months of protests and canceling a series of welfare cuts under the threat of a backbencher revolt.
The latest decision comes as concerns grow about the direction of Sir Keir’s beleaguered Labor government in the face of disastrous approval ratings; The prime minister has faced increasing questions about his own position.
Sir Keir said last year that Labor would introduce a digital ID system that would be optional in most cases but mandatory for right-to-work checks. But those plans were thrown into confusion on Tuesday night after it emerged ministers were considering rolling back the mandatory element and allowing other digital documents to be used for right-to-work checks.
The U-turn, which sparked a fresh wave of criticism from Labor supporters who believe the Prime Minister’s position is at risk, came just hours after health secretary Wes Streeting told a conference in London that the government “should aim to get it right the first time”.
A desperate minister said: Independent: “No one knows what will happen next, or even what we do.”
A senior Labor backbencher added: “The government looks like it’s in free fall at the moment. It’s in complete shambles. This government looks set to hang on until May and hope they can get through the moment of peril and things can somehow turn around.”
Another MP said: “I’m being told I have to wait until the local elections in May, but I’m increasingly wondering what that means.”
Another MP said of the U-turn: “It’s very clear that Number 10 has completely lost touch with reality.” “One would think they are learning on the job. But their decision-making and policy development strategies are going from really bad to alarmingly inadequate.”
The MP stated that they believe the prime minister will “fall on his sword” following what is expected to be a disastrous result for the Labor Party in the local elections.
“A leadership contest has been on the agenda for some time. This is widely accepted around the world.” [parliamentary Labour Party] Now. But this is a political chess game of who will make the next move.”
Meanwhile, there has been vocal criticism of Sir Tony Blair’s failed attempt to revive compulsory identity policy.
Norwich South MP Clive Lewis said: “This is the sort of thing a government tries to do when it’s at the height of its power, not when it’s struggling electorally. If people trusted it on foreign policy and the economy, it could say, ‘We’re doing this for your benefit.’
“But these were ill-conceived plans in the first place. An unnecessary fight. And of course it was always going to trigger the libertarian right.”
The statement came after former Labor home secretary David Blunkett harshly criticized the U-turn, suggesting the government had been forced to abandon the plan after failing to convince people why it was a good idea after announcing it last year.
In a damning indictment of the prime minister, Lord Blunkett told BBC Radio 4: Today program: “Unfortunately, this is a symptom of not being able to explain why this policy is important, not being able to follow the details of how it will work, and not being able to reinforce it with an action plan. When you fail to do all this, it is no surprise that everything eventually falls into the sand.”
Lord Blunkett, who first proposed identity cards as a cabinet minister in Sir Tony’s administration in 2002, said he was “disappointed but not surprised”.
He said the original announcement was “not followed by a narrative, supporting statements or any strategic plan that actually lays out the issue, with other ministers and others committed to it”.
But Sir Tony’s think tank, which advocates for the introduction of digital identity, said the U-turn was “a change of approach, not a change of direction”.
Sir Tony tried to make ID cards compulsory during his time in Downing Street but was forced to water down the policy to a voluntary scheme, which was later canceled by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.
Ryan Wain, chief executive of policy and policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said: “Removing mandatory digital ID from right-to-work checks is a change in approach, not a change in direction.
“Digital identity remains vital if we want public services that work the way people currently expect them to, with less friction, fewer formats and services actually merging. The real test is not whether people will be forced to use it, but whether it is good enough for them to choose to do so.”
He added: “If digital identity makes everyday interactions with government easier, faster and more personal, people will choose it. Getting the design and rollout right is the way to build public trust, and it’s the foundation of truly modernizing public services.”
The compulsory ID card scheme was announced with great publicity by the prime minister last September and has been presented as a key weapon in the campaign to curb immigration. Sir Keir said at the time: “Let me explain: If you don’t have a digital ID, you can’t work in the UK. It’s that simple.”
But support for the policy collapsed following Sir Keir’s announcement, falling from 53 per cent in June to just 31 per cent in October.
Government sources say the scheme will now be voluntary when it is introduced in 2029, giving workers the option to use other methods to verify their identity.
Defending the decision to water down mandatory digital ID plans, which faced fire in the House of Commons during a U-turn, Sir Keir insisted there would be “checks” on the right to work in the UK, arguing: “They will be digital and they will be mandatory.”
