Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to introduce digital ID does not mean everyone will have to carry it with them, with a government minister insisting it will be “entirely their choice” whether people use it.
Under the proposal, individuals will not be asked to produce it, other than when they are proving a right to work in the UK.
The plan, which would require a law change to implement, comes amid mounting pressure on ministers to take more drastic action to tackle migration as boat crossings reach a record high and the asylum backlog is still above 75,000 – pressure exacerbated by the success of Reform UK in the polls.
It comes after a new seat-by-seat poll from YouGov put Nigel Farage on track to become Britain’s next prime minister, showing Reform is close to having enough support to form a majority government if an election were held today.
The new digital IDs – which would be the authoritative proof of identity and residency status in the UK and include name, date of birth, and a photo as well as information on nationality and residency status – are expected to be available to UK citizens and legal residents by the end of this parliament.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Friday, culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: “It will be compulsory if you want to work in this country, so you’ll have to show that to be able to prove that you have the right to work.”
She said the change would make a “significant dent” in the number of people who are able to work illegally because current documents can be too easily falsified, adding that a national insurance number “won’t be sufficient” in future to prove employment rights.
“The problem with national insurance numbers is that they’re not linked to anything else.
“So they’re not linked, for example, to photo ID, so you can’t verify that the person in front of you is actually the person whose national insurance number that you’re looking at, and we’ve seen a real rise in the amount of identity theft and people losing documents and then finding that their identity has been stolen,” Ms Nandy said.
She said the government was not putting a “precise figure” on the cost of rolling out the scheme because the consultation would seek to determine how it would work for groups including older people, the homeless and people with disabilities.
The culture secretary also said the “plan is to ensure that everybody has it, but you can choose whether you use it.”
She referred to debates over identity cards that go back to when Sir Tony Blair was prime minister between 1997 and 2007.
“We’ve debated it ever since. It’s important, of course, that we protect people’s civil liberties, and we have got no intention of pursuing a dystopian mess.
“But I do think for most people, this is a fairly common-sense and practical measure.
“And like I said, 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.”
How the scheme will work for those who do not use smartphones will be addressed as part of the consultation process.
The government hopes the proposed IDs will support efforts to reduce illegal immigration by curbing the ability of those who come to the UK illegally to earn money.
