Starmer to unveil plan for compulsory UK digital ID scheme

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce plans for a compulsory UK-wide digital identity scheme in a speech on Friday, a move supporters say would help crack down on illegal working and modernise core state services.

The proposal would be subject to a formal consultation that will also look at how to make the scheme workable for people without a smartphone or passport, and how it might be integrated with existing government services.

The plan echoes a longer-running debate about national identity verification. Labour’s 2000s bid to push a nationwide ID card system faced opposition and was effectively halted when a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition took power. Since then, advocates have argued that digital identification has become more pervasive and could streamline services while tightening checks on eligibility to work.

Some reporting indicates the new approach would aim to verify a person’s right to live and work in Britain, with checks that are intended to be more digital and centralized than today’s largely document-based system. In 2022, pathways to complete some checks online began to appear, but a comprehensive, compulsory system would mark a significant shift in how the state verifies identities.

A formal consultation is expected to examine the practicalities of deploying such a system across government and public services, including how to ensure inclusion for those without smartphones or passports and how to phase in the scheme if it proceeds. The discussion will also consider how the scheme would interact with existing ID checks and what safeguards would be required to protect data and privacy.