Government drops plans for mandatory digital ID to work in UK

Summary

"What I am concerned about is we get better at explaining our policies, we get better at showing the relevance of it," he told BBC 2's Politics Live.The reversal is in the latest in a series of U-turns in recent weeks, including on inheritance tax for farmland and business rates for pubs.Speaking at Prime Minster's Questions, the Tory leader welcomed the government's climbdown, branding the initial digital ID plan a "rubbish policy".But she said the change of approach showed Sir Keir was "blowing around like a plastic bag in the wind", predicting that Labour would next U-turn on its controversial plans to scale back jury trials.The prime minister hit back by pointing to policy reversals and ministerial churn under the previous government, accusing the Conservatives of having "crashed the economy" during their time in office."I'm determined to make it harder for people to work illegally in this country and that's why there will be checks, they will be digital, and they will be mandatory," he added. When the government first announced the policy plan, it argued that mandatory digital ID for workers would make it easier to clamp down on immigrants working illegally.The scheme, it is understood, will now deal less narrowly with immigration and the government will instead place more emphasis on the argument that digital ID can be a useful tool for the public when accessing public services.Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government was still "absolutely committed" to mandatory digital right to work checks, including through biometric passports, and said digitising the system would help crack down on illegal working."The digital ID could be one way in which you prove your eligibility to work through a digital right to work check," she said."At the moment we've got a paper-based system - there's no proper records kept."It makes it very difficult then to target enforcement action sensibly against businesses that are employing illega...