Mandatory Digital ID is back on the agenda, and I want to make clear my strong opposition to this idea.
Labour’s plan to make digital ID compulsory for work in the UK feels like an overreach and, frankly, a consequence for ordinary British people of a government struggling to manage illegal immigration effectively. While I have been honest that the last Conservative government did not fully deliver on this issue, we now have a clear, coherent plan to tackle small boat crossings. Making millions of law-abiding citizens sign up to compulsory digital ID is certainly not part of that plan.
The proposed digital ID would include a person’s name, date of birth, photograph, nationality, and residency status. In the future, it could also link to public services such as driving licences, childcare, and welfare. The government says it will work for people without smartphones, but it is unclear how this will function in practice. I regularly hear from constituents who struggle to access online services, particularly older people. This plan risks embedding further barriers and leaving many people behind.
This is not the first time the UK has considered compulsory ID. Similar proposals were put forward under Tony Blair’s Labour government in 2006 and were rightly seen as excessive and were eventually scrapped by the coalition in 2010. ID cards have always been treated with suspicion in Britain. We are rightly sceptical of excessive government power, and a single database containing everyone’s personal information exemplifies that concern.
Labour says the aim is to reduce illegal working and make the right-to-work system more secure. In principle, making it harder to misuse identity is understandable but the current system is already strict. Employers who fail to carry out proper right-to-work checks can already be fined up to £60,000, yet some still hire undocumented workers illegally. This policy will burden law-abiding citizens without effectively addressing the root causes of illegal working.
People working illegally often avoid checks entirely. In countries with long-standing ID systems such as France and Germany, illegal working remains a problem. Estonia, which implemented a modern digital ID system early, focuses primarily on easier access to public services rather than enforcement. I support people using online services voluntarily, but forcing everyone to sign up is a different matter.
The timeline for this scheme is also concerning. Digital ID will only be fully rolled out by the end of this Parliament, around 2029. That is not a short-term solution to urgent immigration issues.
Information security is another serious worry. We have repeatedly seen successful hacks of government databases in the UK and around the world. Earlier this year, the Legal Aid Agency’s database was hacked, and NHS systems have also been targeted. This shows how vulnerable sensitive data is and a single, linked, database of everyone’s personal information presents a major risk.
We need policies that tackle illegal working at the root, enforce existing rules effectively, and stop people coming here illegally in the first place. Mandatory digital ID, as proposed, is overreaching, costly, and unlikely to solve the problem. Public polling shows most people oppose it, and more than two million have already signed a petition against it. Constituents in Bexhill and Battle are likely to be sceptical, if not outright opposed.
We need approaches that are proportionate, effective, and do not create additional bureaucracy for law-abiding people, while those who break the law continue unchecked. Mandatory digital ID is not the solution.
