In a significant policy reversal, the UK government has abandoned plans to make digital identification mandatory for proving the right to work. The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, confirmed the shift, stating that while digital checks will proceed, individuals can now use alternative documentation.
Policy Shift and Ministerial Defence
Heidi Alexander emphasised the Labour administration's commitment to implementing digital right-to-work checks but clarified the new, more flexible approach. Instead of a compulsory government-issued digital ID, people will be able to use other digital proofs, such as the biometric chip in a passport, to verify their eligibility to work.
During a robust interview on Sky News on 14 January 2026, Alexander defended the government's record against accusations of making 13 major U-turns since taking office. These alleged reversals included policies on welfare spending, farmers' inheritance tax, winter fuel payments, and the two-child benefit limit.
"Change is going to take time, but we are making progress," Alexander stated, rejecting the characterisation of these adjustments as U-turns. On the specific issue of the two-child benefit limit, she argued the government had always been clear about reviewing measures through a newly established child poverty task force.
From Mandatory Plans to Public Backlash
This climbdown follows substantial public and political criticism. Public support for digital ID cards plummeted from 35% in early summer 2025 to -14% shortly after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the plans ahead of Labour's September conference.
Initially, in September, Starmer positioned mandatory digital ID as a cornerstone of a crackdown on illegal immigration, declaring, "You will not be able to work in the UK if you don't have a digital ID, it's as simple as that." By October, he was attempting to rebuild support by highlighting potential benefits, like using the ID to buy alcohol or rent student accommodation.
However, campaigners and MPs raised loud concerns over civil liberties, data privacy, and state surveillance. Silki Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, told the Home Affairs Select Committee in November that the policy had been so badly managed it was now "irrecoverable" for the government, potentially for the next decade.
The Path Forward and System Rationale
Alexander argued that the move towards a digital system is necessary to modernise a fragmented current process. "At the moment, we've got a mish-mash of a paper system where no digital records are kept," she said, noting this makes targeted enforcement against illegal working difficult.
The original digital ID model would have involved a credential stored in the official GOV.UK wallet app on a smartphone, checked against a central database. A public consultation on the revised digital ID plans is set to be launched in the coming weeks.
This decision marks a substantial recalibration of a flagship government policy, balancing the aim of efficient immigration enforcement with responsiveness to public and parliamentary dissent over privacy and compulsion.
