Tom Gordon: ‘Digital ID U-Turn was inevitable and just the latest example of Labour’s incompetence’

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has welcomed the Labour Government’s decision to abandon plans for mandatory digital IDs, while warning that the latest U-turn exposes a continued lack of a clear plan for the country.

At the end of last year, Keir Starmer announced proposals for a compulsory digital ID system that would have allowed individuals’ identities to be linked across a vast range of public and private services, including healthcare, tax records, benefits, and potentially even internet access. 

The plans sparked widespread backlash, including from Tom, who strongly criticised the proposal and condemned it as a “dangerous attack on our civil liberties” that would have cost the public billions. He warned that the Government was prioritising an expensive mass surveillance scheme over urgently fixing the NHS, tackling the cost-of-living crisis, and addressing the housing shortage. 

Tom has welcomed the Government’s decision to abandon this latest failed policy. However, he has expressed serious concern at the growing pattern of Labour reversing major policies, following previous U-turns on farming tax, winter fuel payments, and pub business rates. 

Commenting, Tom said:

“From the start, it was clear that mandatory digital IDs were doomed to fail. Labour sold them as a silver bullet, but in reality they were deeply flawed and fundamentally misguided. 

“This policy would have eroded civil liberties, cost taxpayers billions, and taken the country in the wrong direction. People want practical solutions to the real challenges they face, not an expensive mass surveillance scheme. 

“While I welcome the Government’s U-turn, it raises serious questions about their judgement. How many more policies will Labour abandon before admitting they don’t have a clear plan for the country?”