UK plans to introduce digital ID cards, as populist pressure over immigration rises

British citizens and permanent residents will be required to issue an obligatory digital identification card to access work, which the government announced on Friday, repeating a controversial idea long discussed in the UK.

British citizens and non-nationals will be required to print a compulsory digital identification card to obtain work, the government declared on Friday, which reinvigorates an idea that has been a hot topic in the UK.

The government believes that the plan will contribute to slowing unauthorised immigration because it will make it more difficult for individuals to work in the underground economy. It adds that it will also simplify access to healthcare, welfare, and child care and other public services by people.

“It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “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.”

This is the first time since just after World War II that Britain has had compulsory identity cards on ordinary citizens and the concept has been highly detectable, with civil rights activists claiming that it violates personal freedom and endangers the privacy of individuals.

A similar measure was proposed by former Prime Minister Tony Blair who attempted to implement biometric ID cards thirty years ago as an anti-terrorist and anti-fraud device, but was scrapped due to overwhelming public and parliamentary opposition.

“There’s always been this feeling that Britain is not a so-called ‘Papers, please’ society, in contrast to continental Europe and other countries where ID cards are very common,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

“It has to be said, however, that given one is forced in some ways to prove one’s ID in myriad circumstances, both in contact with the government and in contact with the private sector in all sorts of ways, that actually a digital ID card would be quite useful.”

The government of Starmer added that citizens would not be forced to carry ID or show it, but they would be forced to obtain employment. 

The government indicated that the digital ID will be compatible with individuals that do not have a smartphone, and this will be a subject of public consultation.

Starmer has committed to reducing that figure through taking action against the criminal individuals trafficking gangs who facilitate the trips and by removing so-called pull factors that migrants have to the UK such as a brief that it is simple to secure under-the-table jobs.