Digital ID rollout set as UK targets illegal migration

United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Friday that the government will proceed with plans for a mandatory digital identity, to be held on people’s phones to prove right to work.

In a September 26 press release, the Prime Minister’s office said that the digital ID will become mandatory “by the end of the Parliament,” but that “there will be no requirement for individuals to carry their ID or be asked to produce it.”

The government also made clear that the motivation for this new mandatory ID was illegal immigration.

“A new digital ID scheme will help combat illegal working while making it easier for the vast majority of people to use vital government services,” said the press release. “This will stop those with no right to be here from being able to find work, curbing their prospect of earning money, one of the key ‘pull factors’ for people who come to the U.K. illegally.”

Starmer’s government has been under pressure to tackle the issue of illegal migration, with recent reports stating that more than 50,000 migrants have arrived on small boats since Labour came to power.

In addition to combating illegal immigration, the government said the digital ID rollout would “in time make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records.”

It added that “the new digital ID will be held on people’s phones, just as millions already use the NHS App or contactless mobile payments.”

In terms of the specifics, according to reports, the ID will include a name, date of birth, nationality or residency status, and a photo. The government also said it would “take the best aspects” of digital ID systems from Australia, Estonia, Denmark, and India, citing access to private services, child benefits, health, and education records.

Speaking from the Global Progress Action Summit in London on Friday, Starmer confirmed the digital ID policy and said, “You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It’s as simple as that.”

Neither Starmer nor the Labour Party indicated exactly when the ID would be introduced, other than reiterating that it would be “by the end of parliament.”

Starmer’s Labour Party was elected in July 2024 with a landslide. Under current law, parliament may run for up to five years unless an early election is called. So, barring a substantial policy U-turn, U.K. citizens can expect to see digital IDs implemented sometime before 2029.

The announcement that the government will plough ahead with plans for a digital ID, despite substantial opposition and skepticism, might come as somewhat of a surprise. Still, the concept of a digital ID has been on the cards for some time.

Long mooted

The Labour Party has been hinting at introducing a digital ID for a while. An early foray into the area came in December last year, when the relatively new Labour government announced the introduction of government-backed digital IDs.

The IDs, scheduled for rollout in 2025, allow people to use their smartphones to buy alcohol in pubs, clubs, and shops. They’re part of a broader effort to digitize state functions, including paying taxes, opening bank accounts, and more.

This fairly uncontroversial and voluntary age verification system represented a baby step—or testing of the water, perhaps—for the government when it comes to pitching the idea of a broader digital ID.

Fast-forward a few months, and in June, the U.K. political think tank Labour Together proposed a full mandatory digital ID, called ‘BritCard,’ for those with the right to live and work in the U.K., whether British-born nationals or legal migrants.

With BritCard, Labour Together made the case for a mandatory national digital identity that would be issued free of charge to all those with the right to live or work in the U.K. It would be a verifiable digital credential downloaded onto a user’s smartphone; and could be instantly checked by employers or landlords.

In the light of Labour Together’s proposal, and as the debate around a potential digital ID built up, several key figures began touting the scheme as a way to combat illegal immigration, a hot button issue in U.K. politics, as it is in many countries.

In a July interview with BBC Newsnight, the former head of MI6, Alex Younger, said it was “absolutely obvious to me that people should have a digital identity.” He went on to claim that the absence of ID cards was contributing to issues around undocumented migrants in the U.K.

The following day, former Labour Minister and current Baroness in the House of Lords, Harriet Harman, told Sky News that one of the U.K.’s “pull factors” is that people arriving on small boats can easily work illegally.

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A very British aversion

The U.K. public has been notoriously reticent when it comes to any form of national ID. The closest the U.K. has got to a national ID came almost two decades ago, with the Identity Cards Act 2006. This scheme allowed for the creation of physical National Identity Cards which were issued to British citizens on a voluntarily basis.

Only around 15,000 National Identity Cards were ever issued—in a country of around 67 million people—and the Act was repealed in 2011, based on concerns around cost, effectiveness, discrimination, human rights, and ‘the surveillance state.’

By the time the Identity Card Bill was repealed, the Home Office stated that £257 million ($346 million) had been spent on implementing the failed ID cards.

The British public’s seeming aversion to embracing a national ID—whether physical or digital—appears more peculiar when taken in a global context.

According to tracking site ‘World Population View,’ 131 countries worldwide have some form of mandatory national ID card, including many of the U.K.’s European neighbors, such as Spain, Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, a number of countries around the world have already issued digital IDs—sometimes referred to as eIDs (electronic IDs)—including Austria, Denmark, Singapore, South Korea, and China.

When it comes to the U.K.’s contrasting reluctance, the latter of these countries may help explain some of the hesitation, as the example of China is often cited by opponents of digital ID—or any form of national ID for that matter—as a cautionary tale.

Responding to news that the PM Starmer would be announcing a mandatory digital ID scheme, Silkie Carlo, Director of the anti-surveillance state campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: “Plans for a mandatory digital ID would make us all reliant on a digital pass to go about our daily lives, turning us into a checkpoint society that is wholly unBritish.”

On the apparent motivation behind the Government’s ID plan, i.e. tackling illegal immigration—or being seen to do so—Carlo added that “Digital IDs would do absolutely nothing to deter small boats but would make Britain less free, creating a domestic mass surveillance infrastructure that will likely sprawl from citizenship to benefits, tax, health, possibly even internet data and more.”

Meanwhile, some political opponent of the government saw the ID announcement as an attempt to distract from recent scandals and turmoil in Starmer’s administration.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Helen Whately, said that the PM was “desperately looking for a distraction” and that introducing digital IDs serves as a “smokescreen for Keir Starmer’s failures.”

She added that the Conservative Party “opposes” the introduction of mandatory ID, saying that “we don’t want to become a country where people are stopped in the street and asked to show their ID.”

Since Starmer’s announcement, over 850,000 people (as of the time of writing) have signed a petition on the Government website titled “Do not introduce Digital ID cards.” Parliament must consider all petitions that get more than 100,000 signatures for a debate, and the government responds to petitions with more than 10,000 signatures.

The Labour Government seems set on its digital ID plan and has more than enough votes in parliament to push through any necessary legislation. Still, no government is immune to the whims of public opinion, and resistance to the scheme clearly remains strong. Thus, a possible U-turn can never be ruled out.

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Watch: What can organizations do to get on the Web3 & digital identity bus?

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