UK’s Starmer Says Proposed Digital ID Will Be Mandatory for Work

The UK government has said its proposed digital ID will be mandatory for all adults to work in the UK, prompting a fierce backlash from civil liberties groups and politicians concerned about the erosion of privacy and creeping state control.

Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the policy in a Sept. 26 news release, saying it will take “the best aspects of the digital identification systems that are already up and running around the world.”

The government said the proposed IDs are intended to deter illegal immigrants from coming to the UK on small boats by restricting their ability to earn money.

But critics across the political divide called the move a “gimmick” that will not prevent people from illegally entering the country.

‘Shadow Economy’

Starmer said in a speech on Friday at the Global Progress Action Summit in London that the immigration system needs to be “fair” and that people need to feel the government is on “their side.”

“That is why today I am announcing this government will make a new, free-of-charge, digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this Parliament,” the prime minister said.

“Let me spell it out: You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID.”

Starmer added, “For too many years, it’s been too easy for people to come here, slip into the shadow economy and remain here illegally because, frankly, we have been squeamish about saying things that are clearly true.”

Concern over soaring levels of both legal and illegal immigration has fueled widespread unrest in the UK since Labour swept to office last July with a 174-seat majority.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said on Friday that the digital document will be needed only as proof of the right to work, and not for other purposes.

“Although all UK citizens will have a digital ID, it will not be mandatory for people to use it. It will be entirely their choice,” she told Sky News.

Nandy acknowledged that nothing would change practically in terms of what penalties businesses face for failing to check whether employees have the right to work.

But she told BBC Breakfast the IDs would make a “significant dent” in the number of people who are able to work illegally because she said current documents can be too easily falsified.

Online Petition

Both critics and supporters have pointed out that once digital ID is rolled out, there is scope for its use to be enhanced to access other services—such as the National Health Service (NHS)—following the model of countries such as Estonia and Denmark.

An online petition opposing the introduction of digital ID had gathered more than 1.3 million signatures by Friday evening.

The petition states: “We think this would be a step toward mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system. We oppose the creation of any national ID system.

“ID cards were scrapped in 2010, in our view for good reason.”

Writing on X, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed the plans as a “gimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats.”

‘Controlling the Population’

She also criticized the scheme for being the brainchild of the Labour Together think tank, following its recommendation of a so-called Brit Card in June. The organization has come under scrutiny for an alleged lack of transparency over funding when led by Starmer’s now chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, currently riding high in the opinion polls, shared a video statement in which he drew parallels with the previous government’s introduction of NHS vaccine passports during the era of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.

Farage also said ID cards had failed to make an impact on illegal immigration in other European countries, such as Germany and the Czech Republic.

“It’s made no difference at all in Germany, and nor will it here,” he said.

“All that digital ID will be is a means of controlling the population, of telling us what we can and can’t do, of harassing the innocent … and didn’t we see it all, when we had the pandemic, when you had to have vaccine ID to travel, to do various things?”

Farage added that he is concerned about “massive data banks” with people’s private information being hacked by “foreign governments, private companies and criminals.”

Blair’s Influence

Proposals for physical ID cards have been previously fought off in the UK. including in the 2000s, when former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair pushed for them on a voluntary basis but met with fierce resistance, including from the main political parties in opposition at the time.

Blair has continued to champion the idea of digital ID through his global think tank, with a detailed new paper calling for its introduction published on the same day as the government announcement.

“The contribution digital ID can make to combatting illegal immigration and the criminal groups that exploit desperate people is part of this, but importantly, digital ID can do so much more for our citizens, our communities, and our country,” Alexander Iosad, director of government innovation policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, wrote in the report.

The Liberal Democrats said they would fight “tooth and nail” against the “nonsensical” plans, and accused Labour of having a “decades-long obsession” with ID cards.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said in a statement: “Keir Starmer seems determined to lead a government of gimmicks— that just adds to our tax bills and bureaucracy, whilst doing next to nothing to tackle Channel crossings.

“Imagine if the government devoted this much money and focus on getting [doctor] waiting times down, or fixing social care, instead of pursuing the Labour Party’s decades long obsession with ID cards and more state control.

“It is nonsensical and the Liberal Democrats will fight against it tooth and nail—just as we successfully did against Tony Blair’s ID cards.”

The proposal had not formed part of Labour’s election manifesto pledges ahead of the 2024 general election, and then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said digital ID was “not our approach” just after Labour came to power last July.

Many people commenting online expressed their intention to refuse to accept or use the ID, drawing parallels between the attempts to introduce vaccination or health status passports during the COVID-19 lockdown era.

GB News contributor Neil Oliver, who has long spoken out on what he sees as the dangers of digital ID, laid out the possibility for the expansion of state powers of surveillance if the proposal is passed into law.

“Brit Card makes possible the tracking of your movements, what you post online, what protests you might attend, how you spend your money, and all of that data is stored forever. There would be no state-sanctioned opt-out. … All citizens would become digitally visible to the state across every transaction,” Oliver said.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss, who occupied No. 10 for just seven weeks in 2022, commented on X that she did not think the proposals would ever come to fruition.

‘Authoritarian Scheme’

“Knowing what I know about Government IT, it is highly unlikely that this terrible, authoritarian scheme will be implemented by 2029. By then, Starmer will have been kicked out of office, and it can be junked,” Truss said.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is attempting to launch a new left-wing party, also expressed his opposition to the policy.

Corbyn said on X: “I firmly oppose the government’s plans for compulsory digital ID cards. This is an affront to our civil liberties and will make the lives of minorities even more difficult and dangerous. It is excessive state interference—and must be resisted.”

The Together Declaration campaign group, formed in opposition to perceived government overreach during the COVID-19 lockdown era, vowed to oppose the government plans, saying on X, “Britain is not a ‘Papers Please’ country—freedom from surveillance is part of who we are. Digital ID is expensive, risky, unneeded—and un-British.”

Civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, a longtime opponent of digital ID, said that a centralized scheme would be “a honeypot for hackers and foreign adversaries, creating huge digital security risks for our data.”

“Politicians have tried and failed to sell digital IDs to the British public as a vital solution to a range of issues including fighting terrorism and even protecting us from COVID,” it said.

“But Britain has historically rejected various forms of mandatory ID. We must reject this one too.”

The proposal envisages virtual ID cards being stored on devices in the same way many people choose to store contactless payment cards or the NHS App.

The proposed ID would include name, date of birth, and a photo, as well as information on nationality and residency status. How the scheme will work for those who do not use smartphones will be addressed as part of the consultation process, which will take place later this year before legislation is brought before Parliament.