THE LATEST | CANADATimes: The prime minister had previously announced that they would be compulsory to verify the right to work, as part of a crackdown on migration.
Government sources said on Tuesday night that this would instead be optional when the IDs are introduced in 2029. Workers would be given the choice of using other documents to verify their identity…
Telegraph: Last week, it emerged that ministers had been ordered to find savings in their departments to fund the scheme, which the Office for Budget Responsibility calculated would cost £1.8bn. The Government rejected the estimate…
The Independent: So the 3 million people who signed the petition against the digital ID plan may have influenced the decision, but it was the arithmetic in the Commons that would have been more important.
Many Labour MPs saw the policy as intrusive, too expensive, unnecessary and an attempt to revive a failed Tony Blair plan…
BBC: Whatever they think of the change to this specific policy, Labour MPs are growing increasingly frustrated with the government’s U-turns.
Some had already been wary of defending controversial government policies to their constituents because they feared that the policy would inevitably be reversed.
One furious Labour MP told the BBC last night that the latest U-turn was “an absolute car crash”, adding: “The boys at No 10 jumped into it with no thought, marched the PLP up the hill only to bottle it, take all the pain and no credit.”…
Chris Mason: The climbdowns stack up for Starmer with digital ID U-turn