Starmer’s Bold Move: Mandatory Digital IDs to Combat Illegal Migration

London, September 26, 2025 – In a fiery speech at the Global Progress Action Summit today, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled plans for a nationwide mandatory digital ID scheme, dubbing it the “Brit Card.” Aimed at slashing illegal working and fortifying borders, the initiative requires every working adult to possess a free-of-charge digital identity by the end of this Parliament – a seismic shift for a nation long resistant to compulsory ID systems.

Standing alongside international leaders like Australia’s Anthony Albanese and Canada’s Mark Carney, Starmer framed the policy as a pragmatic response to public anxieties over migration. “I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country,” he declared. “A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering.” The digital IDs, verifiable against a central database, will become essential for right-to-work checks, targeting the “black market jobs” that Starmer argues exploit foreign workers and undercut fair wages.

Our immigration system needs to be fair.

That’s why we are introducing digital ID — if you don’t have it, you can’t work here. pic.twitter.com/T8fsKGVROU

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) September 26, 2025

The announcement builds on recent endorsements from think tanks like the Tony Blair Institute and Labour Together, which highlight how digital IDs could close loopholes exploited by trafficking gangs. Starmer, reflecting on Labour’s failed 2000s push for physical ID cards – scrapped by the 2010 coalition government – noted the landscape has evolved. “We all carry a lot more digital ID now than we did 20 years ago,” he said, positioning the scheme as a modern tool rather than a “dystopian nightmare.”

Yet the proposal has ignited immediate backlash. Within hours, an online petition on Parliament’s website opposing the “Brit Card” surpassed 1 million signatures, triggering a mandatory debate. Privacy advocates, including Big Brother Watch, decried it as a step toward a “Papers, please” society, warning it burdens law-abiding citizens without deterring small boat crossings. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey slammed the plan for forcing people to “turn over their private data just to go about their daily lives.” Even Conservatives, led by Kemi Badenoch, called for a “proper national debate” before mandating such a “very serious step.”

Reform UK, Starmer’s populist rival, dismissed the move as a continuation of Tory-era failures on immigration. As the petition swells and civil liberties groups mobilize, the policy – subject to consultation and legislation – risks fracturing Starmer’s fragile premiership. With 54% of Britons backing mandatory IDs in a 2023 YouGov poll, the divide is stark: a progressive reset or an overreach that alienates the centre?

For now, the Prime Minister insists the benefits outweigh the fears. “Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK,” he affirmed, vowing to make it the “bedrock of the modern state.” As Parliament gears up for debate, Britain’s identity – literal and figurative – hangs in the balance.