The right and left parties of the UK have reached an unusual consensus: they oppose the last attempt by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to curb illegal immigration by compulsory digital ID cards.
The plan, announced last week and that will be rolled out in full in August 2029, has revived a decades of old debate in the United Kingdom about whether digital IDs will be overly pushy or even effective in combating illegal migration.
“You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have a digital ID. It’s as simple as that,” said Starmer, leader of the Labor Party, when announcing the compulsory plan.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold his keynote speech during the Labor Party Conference in ACC Liverpool on September 30, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Ian Forsyth/Getty images)
But although illegal immigration has become increasing concern for both sides of the aisle in the UK, the approach of Starmer with open opposition is.
Former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who left the party in 2024 to be independent, said that he is “firmly opposite[s] The government’s plans for mandatory digital ID cards. “
“This is an insult to our civil liberties and will make the life of minorities even more difficult and dangerous,” he said. “It is excessive interference of the state – and must be resisted.”
Corbyn, who launched his own political movement called “Your Party” this week as an alternative to what he called the “control freaks” of work, repeated similar criticism once expressed by right -wing leader Nigel Farage, who founded Reform UK in opposition to the conservatives.
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Former worker Jeremy Corbyn speaks with striking hotel employees on the Piketlijn outside the village hotel on August 22, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty images)
Farage said in a post on X that he was also “firm against” against the mandatory digital ID cards and argued: “It will make no difference to illegal immigration, but it will be used to control and punish the rest of us.”
“The state should never have so much power,” he added.
Although Starmer’s plan has brought fire from both left and right, albeit for very different reasons, polls suggest that the public vote is also shifting.
The independent reported that more than half of the British Supported digital IDs In June, with less than 20% against.
But that support seems to have been drastically shifted, with almost half of all British who now say that they are opposed to the measure, according to the news exit.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks during a press conference in Westminster, United Kingdom on 10 June 2025. (Thomas Krych/Anadolu via Getty images)
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The digital ID card, which can be stored on a smartphone, would contain the name of a holder, residence status, date of birth and nationality. British reports said it would only be used in the first instance for the verification of employment, although its scope could be expanded.
The plan is confronted with resistance: more than 2.4 million Britons have signed a petition on the website of the parliament to which the BBC is opposed, the BBC reported. Every petition with more than 100,000 signatures must be considered for debate.
The Prime Minister’s office could not be reached immediately for comment.
