British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new plan for national digital ID on Friday to curb illegal immigration, but the move faces long-standing backlash from such action.
The government said the new digital ID will be held on people’s phones and does not require individuals to carry or require production of it.
However, this will be “must be used as a means of proving your right to work”.
It added: “This will stop those who do not have the right to find a job here and curb their prospect of making money, which is one of the key ‘pull factors’ for those who come to the UK illegally.”
The government said the drive will also make it easier to apply for services such as driver’s license, parenting and welfare, while simplifying access to tax records.
The labor force of government parties is labor, preparing for annual meetings and under tremendous pressure, especially in immigration.
“Digital ID is a huge opportunity for the UK … it will also bring countless benefits to ordinary citizens,” Firmer said.
He added: “We are doing tough graves to provide a fairer UK for those who want to see change rather than division.”
Traditionally, the UK has rejected the idea of an ID card and there is no central civilian registration form or identification requirement in public.
The conservative-led government repealed the Tony Blair administration legislation in 2011, which created a voluntary database of national identity cards and resident registrations.
Political opposition
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition conservatives, wrote on X: “Her party will oppose…the government imposes mandatory ID cards on law-abiding citizens.
She added: “We will not support any system that is compulsory against the people of the UK and will not exclude those who choose not to use it from any right to our citizenship.”
The left-wing liberal Democrats also said they “can’t support mandatory digital IDs where people are forced to flip private data just to extend their daily lives.”
Nigel Farage, the leader of the British hard-reform Party, predicted by the polls, will form the next government. “I don’t think having a digital ID other than a digital ID does not control what we do, what we spend, what we spend, what we spend and where we go.”
A petition requesting not to introduce an ID card collected more than 650,000 signatures earlier Friday, but recent polls have shown that most people support the move in the public.
Currently, British citizens usually use their driver’s license, passport and utility bills as a means of proof of identity depending on the circumstances.
The government said that as part of a public consultation to be launched later this year, “a range of views on how services will be delivered”.
It also promises that the program will be available to people who cannot use their smartphones.
“Public consultation will interact with less experienced groups in the digital world (such as homeless and older people) from knowledge from other countries,” the government statement said.
