New digital ID will be mandatory to work in the UK

In a bid to combat unlawful migration, a digital ID will be required to work in the United Kingdom. According to Sir Keir Starmer, the new digital ID scheme will make it impossible for people to work in the UK illegally and will offer countless services to residents. However, opposition parties have maintained that the plans will not discourage people from crossing the Channel in small boats.

In a wider address to a group of world leaders, Prime Minister David Cameron announced his intentions. He said it had been “too easy” for people to work illegally in the UK because the centre-left had been described as “squeamish” about saying things that were “clearly true.”

Key Figures' Responses

Sir Keir, who was accompanied by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, said it was time to “look ourselves in the mirror and acknowledge where our parties have allowed our governments to shy away from people's worries.”

He added, at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London, “it is not compassionate left-wing politics to rely on slave labour and undercut fair wages.”

“The simple fact is, each nation needs to have control over its borders. We do need to know who is in our country,” he said.

After the speech, Sir Keir tweeted that he wanted the next election to be an “open contest” between Labour and Reform UK.

In response to Prime Minister David Cameron's address, Reform UK said the public was “waking up to the fact that Starmer is just continuing the Tories' Tory legacy of high taxes and mass immigration.”

Despite having only five MPs, Nigel Farage's Reform UK party has been leading opinion polls for many months. The Prime Minister suggested that facing the challenge of Reform will be a major talking point when he addresses party members at the Labour Party conference next week.

With over 100,000 migrants arriving in small boats, Sir Keir's cabinet has been under pressure to address illegal migration.

The New Digital ID Scheme

Announcing his proposals for the new digital ID scheme, Sir Keir said: “A safe border and controlled migration are valid demands, and this government is listening and delivering. Digital ID provides the United Kingdom with a major opportunity. By making our borders more secure, it will make it harder to work illegally in this region. And it will also offer everyday people numerous benefits, such as being able to prove your identity in order to access key services quickly, rather than looking for an old utility bill.”

The government has said it wants to ensure the scheme works for those who are unable to use a smartphone, and a survey on how the service will be delivered will be released later this year. The inquiry is expected to last three months, with legislation being introduced early next year.

According to Downing Street, there will be no requirement for people to carry their ID or be asked to produce it. However, a digital ID will be required as a way of proving you are eligible to work in the UK by the end of the Parliament, which is forecast for 2029.

The new digital ID will be held on people's phones, similar to contactless payment cards or the NHS app. It is expected to include a person's name, date of birth, nationality or residency status, as well as a photograph. The consultation will also determine whether additional information, such as an address, should be included.

Employers currently have to perform background checks on potential applicants. Since 2022, they have been able to conduct checks on passport-holding British and Irish citizens. There is also a Home Office online service that can determine whether a non-British or Irish citizen's visa status is held electronically. However, officials are believed to have been investigating whether a digital ID scheme could reduce the use of fake documents and provide a more consistent method of verifying employees' identities.

According to the government, the rollout would eventually make it easier to apply for services such as driving licences, childcare and welfare, as well as streamlining access to tax records.

The new policy, they claim, would “send a strong warning that if you enter illegally, you will not be able to work,” and this would discourage people from crossing the Channel in small boats.

Opposition Reaction

Helen Whately, the Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary, said she could “see the logic” for ID to ensure people are living in the UK legally, but that her party is “opposed to mandatory, compulsory ID cards.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said the Labour government's plans would “unavoidably increase the hoops and red tape for employers,” and that illegal working in the grey economy would persist.

“Which is why it is not an answer to the issue of stopping the boats,” she explained.

Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said his party will “fight tooth and nail against the policy, which will add to our tax bills and bureaucracy,” while doing “next to nothing” to combat channel crossings.

A Reform UK spokesperson said the government's policies were a “cynical ruse to convince voters that something is being done about illegal immigration.”

The SNP-led Scottish government has said it is “opposed” to the introduction of any card that is compulsory to have, compulsory to carry, or that anyone can inspect, including a digital ID.

Michelle O'Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, called the plan “ill-thought-out” and “an attack on the Good Friday Agreement and on the rights of Irish citizens in the North of Ireland.”

According to Sir Keir Starmer, the new digital ID scheme will make it impossible for people to work in the UK illegally and will offer countless services to residents. However, opposition parties have maintained that the plans will not discourage people from crossing the Channel in small boats.

In a wider address to a group of world leaders, Prime Minister David Cameron announced his intentions. He said it had been “too easy” for people to work illegally in the UK because the centre-left had been described as “squeamish” about saying things that were “clearly true.”

Key Figures' Responses

Sir Keir, who was accompanied by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, said it was time to “look ourselves in the mirror and acknowledge where our parties have allowed our governments to shy away from people's worries.”

He added, at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London, “it is not compassionate left-wing politics to rely on slave labour and undercut fair wages.”

“The simple fact is, each nation needs to have control over its borders. We do need to know who is in our country,” he said.

After the speech, Sir Keir tweeted that he wanted the next election to be an “open contest” between Labour and Reform UK.

In response to Prime Minister David Cameron's address, Reform UK said the public was “waking up to the fact that Starmer is just continuing the Tories' Tory legacy of high taxes and mass immigration.”

Despite having only five MPs, Nigel Farage's Reform UK party has been leading opinion polls for many months. The Prime Minister suggested that facing the challenge of Reform will be a major talking point when he addresses party members at the Labour Party conference next week.

With over 100,000 migrants arriving in small boats, Sir Keir's cabinet has been under pressure to address illegal migration.

The New Digital ID Scheme

Announcing his proposals for the new digital ID scheme, Sir Keir said: “A safe border and controlled migration are valid demands, and this government is listening and delivering. Digital ID provides the United Kingdom with a major opportunity. By making our borders more secure, it will make it harder to work illegally in this region. And it will also offer everyday people numerous benefits, such as being able to prove your identity in order to access key services quickly, rather than looking for an old utility bill.”

The government has said it wants to ensure the scheme works for those who are unable to use a smartphone, and a survey on how the service will be delivered will be released later this year. The inquiry is expected to last three months, with legislation being introduced early next year.

According to Downing Street, there will be no requirement for people to carry their ID or be asked to produce it. However, a digital ID will be required as a way of proving you are eligible to work in the UK by the end of the Parliament, which is forecast for 2029.

The new digital ID will be held on people's phones, similar to contactless payment cards or the NHS app. It is expected to include a person's name, date of birth, nationality or residency status, as well as a photograph. The consultation will also determine whether additional information, such as an address, should be included.

Employers currently have to perform background checks on potential applicants. Since 2022, they have been able to conduct checks on passport-holding British and Irish citizens. There is also a Home Office online service that can determine whether a non-British or Irish citizen's visa status is held electronically. However, officials are believed to have been investigating whether a digital ID scheme could reduce the use of fake documents and provide a more consistent method of verifying employees' identities.

According to the government, the rollout would eventually make it easier to apply for services such as driving licences, childcare and welfare, as well as streamlining access to tax records.

The new policy, they claim, would “send a strong warning that if you enter illegally, you will not be able to work,” and this would discourage people from crossing the Channel in small boats.

Opposition Reaction

Helen Whately, the Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary, said she could “see the logic” for ID to ensure people are living in the UK legally, but that her party is “opposed to mandatory, compulsory ID cards.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said the Labour government's plans would “unavoidably increase the hoops and red tape for employers,” and that illegal working in the grey economy would persist.

“Which is why it is not an answer to the issue of stopping the boats,” she explained.

Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said his party will “fight tooth and nail against the policy, which will add to our tax bills and bureaucracy,” while doing “next to nothing” to combat channel crossings.

A Reform UK spokesperson said the government's policies were a “cynical ruse to convince voters that something is being done about illegal immigration.”

The SNP-led Scottish government has said it is “opposed” to the introduction of any card that is compulsory to have, compulsory to carry, or that anyone can inspect, including a digital ID.

Michelle O'Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, called the plan “ill-thought-out” and “an attack on the Good Friday Agreement and on the rights of Irish citizens in the North of Ireland.”