Starmer to U-turn on mandatory digital ID
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to perform another U-turn by scrapping plans to make a national digital ID compulsory for all Brits.
After backtracking on a number of policies, from the farm tax to the end of winter fuel payments, the Prime Minister is set to reveal that the government will no longer make all Brits have a digital ID by the end of parliament.
Instead, workers may have the option of using other ID verification methods, according to sources quoted in media outlets.
It would put a stop to a four-month long government campaign to garner support among the electorate for the policy, which raised concerns among several democracy campaigners and some Labour MPs.
One backbencher told Politics Home, which first reported the story, that it was hard to find a minister who defended the policy in private.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the provisional cost of digital IDs would be £1.8bn over the next three years.
There are also several concerns about the implications of the digital ID for future cyber attacks, with reports in recent months revealing that UK government computers have been compromised by hostile actors from China.
Another Starmer U-turn
At a conference before the Labour Party conference in late September, Starmer said the digital ID would allow UK authorities to crack down on illegal working.
Jumbled communications in subsequent months then highlighted the potential the policy could have on streamlining government services.
Chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones has been the biggest public supporter of the policy.
He defended mandatory digital IDs yesterday: “I’m confident that this time next year, the polling will be a much better place on digital ID than it is today.”
Labour backbenchers have complained about the lack of support for the policy among the electorate.
The digital ID could still be offered to people across the country but it is not expected to be compulsory for right to work checks.
The reversal on the scheme would be the latest U-turn in a long line of examples.
Among the most notable U-turns was a decision to not proceed with £5bn cuts to disability payments.
Some commentators have counted up the number of U-turns to 14, though the figure could be higher if amendments in bills passing through parliament are considered.