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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new digital ID scheme would make it tougher to work in the UK illegally and offer “countless benefits” to citizens.
UK PM Keir Starmer | Image: File
The UK government has announced that digital identity cards will be mandatory to work in the country as part of efforts to tackle illegal migration. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new digital ID scheme would make it tougher to work in the UK illegally.
According to the PM, the scheme will offer “countless benefits” to citizens, but opposition parties argued the proposals would not stop people crossing the Channel in small boats, an important issue dominating Britain’s politics, reported the BBC.
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While addressing a gathering of world leaders at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London, Starmer said, “A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering,” he said. “Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.”
The attendees included Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Starmer further said it was time to recognise that political parties had been allowed to stray away from public concerns and said he wanted the next election to be an “open fight” between Labour and the anti-immigration Reform UK.
“It is not compassionate left-wing politics to rely on labour that exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages,” Starmer told world leaders. “The simple fact is that every nation needs to have control over its borders. We do need to know who is in our country.”
How Will These IDs Work?
Starmer insisted that his government is listening and delivering on promises to curb illegal migration. Digital IDs will become a mandatory method for verifying the right to work in the UK by the end of the current parliamentary term, which is expected to conclude by 2029 at the latest, according to the BBC.
The government is expected to launch a consultation to deliver the scheme. The new digital ID will be held on people’s phones, in a similar way to contactless payment cards or the NHS app. It may include a person’s name, date of birth, nationality or residency status and a photo.
However, Downing Street said there will be no requirement for individuals to carry their ID or be asked to produce it. British officials have been exploring a way to reduce the use of fake documents through the scheme.
Opposition Criticises Starmer’s Plan
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s far-right Reform UK accused the Prime Minister of continuing the Conservative Party’s problematic policies of high taxes and massive immigration. Despite having only five MPs, the party has been leading in the opinion polls for several months.
Conservative Party leader Helen Whately said she could “see the rationale” for ID to make sure people are living in the UK legally, but that her party was “opposed to mandatory, compulsory ID cards”. She said the scheme would result in law-abiding people jumping “through more hoops and employers have more red tape”, while illegal migration continues.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party would “fight tooth and nail” against the scheme, which he said would “add to our tax bills and bureaucracy, whilst doing next to nothing to tackle channel crossings”.
The Labour government had been under pressure to tackle the issue of illegal migration, with more than 50,000 migrants arriving on small boats since Labour came to power, according to the BBC. Immigration was one of the sore points in last year’s election, where the Labour Party came into power after 14 years of Conservative rule.
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
London, United Kingdom (UK)
September 26, 2025, 18:55 IST
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