Keir Starmer has described digital ID cards as “an enormous opportunity” for the UK, as the government prepares to unveil proposals that are expected to provoke a civil liberties row. The prime minister is set to outline the measures on Friday at a conference on how progressive politicians can address issues including voter concerns about immigration.
The proposed “Brit card” would require legislation and has already drawn criticism from privacy campaigners. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, sought to reassure sceptics, insisting the government had “no intention of pursuing a dystopian mess”. Starmer argued that digital ID would make it tougher to work illegally in the UK and strengthen border security, while also allowing citizens to prove their identity quickly when accessing services.
Writing in the Telegraph, the prime minister admitted that Labour had previously “shied away” from addressing immigration concerns, and said it was now “essential” to tackle every aspect of illegal immigration. He insisted it was possible to be concerned about immigration while rejecting Reform UK’s “toxic” approach.
Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, warned the plans would create a “checkpoint society that is wholly unBritish”. She said digital IDs would do nothing to deter small boats but would lead to a domestic mass surveillance infrastructure vulnerable to cyber-attacks. “Starmer has no mandate to force the population to carry digital IDs and millions of us will simply not do it,” she added, describing the scheme as “an enormous mistake”.
Political opposition came from Reform UK, which called the plans a “cynical ploy” to fool voters, and from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who dismissed them as a “gimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats”.
The Guardian reported in June that Downing Street was exploring a digital ID card to crack down on illegal migration, rogue landlords and exploitative work. The idea originated in a Labour Together paper proposing a free, secure digital ID stored on a smartphone via a planned gov.uk Wallet app, rebranded as the Brit Card app. The technology would be built on the existing One Login infrastructure, which allows access to around 50 government services.
