Sir Keir Starmer is facing backlash after he scrapped a key part of his plans for digital ID, in yet another policy U-turn for his Labour government.
Announcing the plan on the eve of last yearâs Labour Party conference, Sir Keir said people âwill not be able to work in the United Kingdomâ if they did not have digital ID as part of a bid to crack down on illegal immigration.
But the plans were thrown into confusion on Tuesday night after it was reported that ministers were rowing back on the compulsory element, allowing other digital documents to be used for right-to-work check.
Former Labour minister Lord Blunkett said he was âdisappointed but not surprisedâ by the governments latest u-turn on plans to make digital ID mandatory for proving the right to work in the UK. The Blair ally has attributed this change of policy to a a “failure to be able to annunciate why this policy mattered”.
The Conservatives said Labourâs âonly consistent policy is retreatâ, while the Liberal Democrats suggested Downing Street was âbulk ordering motion sickness tabletsâ to cope with so many changes of direction.
Sir Keir will face MPs for Prime Ministerâs Questions today following the changes.
