UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled government plans to launch a free digital identity system for citizens and legal residents, aimed at curbing illegal migration while making access to key public services faster and more efficient.
According to the government, the proposed digital ID, which will be stored on people’s smartphones, will simplify applications for services such as driving licences, childcare, welfare benefits, and tax records.
Although individuals will not be required to carry or present the digital ID in everyday life, it will become a mandatory tool for proving the legal right to work in the UK.
“This will stop those with no right to be here from finding work, cutting off one of the key pull factors for illegal migration,” the government said in a statement.
Prime Minister Starmer described the initiative as both a security measure and a social benefit, saying: “Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits. We are doing the hard graft to deliver a fairer Britain for those who want to see change, not division.”
The announcement comes just days before Labour’s annual conference, with Starmer facing mounting political pressure on immigration.
The UK has historically resisted national identity cards. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour government introduced voluntary ID cards in the 2000s, but the scheme was scrapped in 2011 by the Conservative-led government, which also dismantled the national ID database.
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the move, vowing resistance to any mandatory identification system. Writing on X, she said: “We will oppose any push by this organisation or the government to impose mandatory ID cards on law-abiding citizens. We will not support any system that excludes those of us who choose not to use it from our rights as citizens.”
Her stance aligns with a petition against digital ID, which had gathered over 575,000 signatures by Friday. Yet, recent polling indicates that most Britons support the introduction of the scheme.
Currently, UK residents rely on a patchwork of documents—such as passports, driving licences, and utility bills—for identification.
The proposed digital ID aims to streamline this process, while also extending coverage to those without smartphones.
The government has pledged a public consultation later this year, saying it will engage widely with affected groups, including older people, the homeless, and digitally excluded communities, while studying successful models from other countries.
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