The United Kingdom’s government announced last month it plans start requiring those working in it to have digital identification. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said in a press release this will cut down on immigrants working in the United Kingdom illegally, though there has been significant opposition against the ID system by those on both sides of the political spectrum.
The PM’s office said a digital ID system will save people time by ending the need for “complicated identity checks which often rely on copies of paper records” and make it simpler to apply for drivers licenses, child care and welfare.
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This digital ID is going to be on people’s phones. People won’t be required to carry or provide it by government officials, but the digital ID will be mandatory to prove people’s Right to Work to employers.
“Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the U.K. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure,” Starmer said in a statement. “And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly — rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.”
What will be on the digital ID?
The digital ID, stored on people’s phones, will include people’s name, their date of birth, information on their nationality or residency status and a photograph.
When will the digital ID system start?
The digital ID system will be rolled out to all citizens and legal residents by the end of the current Parliament session, which is slated for August 2029.
Is it going to be secure?
The U.K. government said the system will use “state-of-the-art encryption and authentication technology,” similar to what banking apps use.
“User control is at the heart of our proposals. Sharing of information contained in the ID should be instigated by you, and we will be transparent with whom information will be shared,” it said.
Should someone lose their phone, or if it is stolen, digital credentials can be revoked and reissued.
“We also intend to ensure there are safeguards in place to give users piece of mind about how their data will be used,” the government said.
What have people said about it?
Several politicians have reservations about the use of a digital ID. One of them, Member of Parliament Kemi Badenoch, who leads the Conservative party, slammed it as a “desperate gimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats” of immigrants crossing the English Channel. While she acknowledged there are arguments for and against having the digital ID, Badenoch added that mandating its use is a “very serious step that requires a proper national debate.”
“The government has struggled to enforce its feeble one-in-one-out deal with France, which has turned into 100-in-1-out national embarrassment,” Badenoch said on X. “Can we really trust it to implement an expensive national programme that will impact all of our lives and put additional burdens on law-abiding people? I doubt it.”
MP Ben Maguire, a Liberal Democrat, told the BBC that he and others in his party are “struggling” to see how a digital ID could have a meaningful impact on unlawful migration.
The BBC wrote that civil liberties groups said the scheme could make for a more intrusive system. Big Brother Watch and other organizations wrote to Starmer saying that the implementation of a digital ID will “push unauthorised migrants further into the shadows.”
Millions of people signed a petition against introducing digital IDs. The threshold for getting a Parliament debate on a petition is 100,000 signatures.
Reuters reported that a recent YouGov survey found 42% of people supported the digital ID plan and 45% are against it, with reform voters being the most opposed.
A different poll from July, before the official announcement of digital IDS, showed 57% of people in Britain support ID cards, but digital ones only had a support rate of 38%.
Have there been previous efforts to enact a digital ID in the UK?
The last time such an effort was introduced to the U.K. public was in the early 2000s, by the Labour government under Prime Minister Tony Blair. It was shut down though over concerns it was intrusive, the BBC said.
