Government to introduce mandatory digital ID

Prime minister Keir Starmer has announced the government will introduce a digital identity scheme for all UK citizens and legal residents.

The scheme, which the government hopes will help crack down on illegal migration, will be compulsory for Right to Work checks by the end of the current parliament, and includes name, date of birth, nationality and residency status information, and a photo.

Launching the scheme, Starmer said introducing a digital identity for all citizens and residents will provide “a secure border and controlled migration”.

“Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK,” he said. “It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure. And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly – rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.

“We are doing the hard graft to deliver a fairer Britain for those who want to see change, not division,” said Starmer. “That is at the heart of our plan for change, which is focused on delivering for those who want to see their communities thrive again.”

The government is already building a digital wallet, which is underpinned by the Gov.uk One Login digital identity platform, and the digital ID scheme will build on the work that has already been done on Gov.uk Wallet.

The government will launch a public consultation later this year on how the ID service will be delivered.

While plans for a digital ID has previously been rejected by government, and did not feature in the Labour manifesto ahead of the election, there have been several campaigns and inroads into the possibility since Labour came into power.

In April 2025, a group of 42 Labour MPs wrote an open letter to government departments, calling for the government to launch a digital ID programme, which they said would curb legal immigration and transform public services.

A Tony Blair Institute report published in 2023 called for a central, digital ID system as the cornerstone of the public sector. Blair, during his time as prime minister, launched the controversial plans to introduce ID cards in the UK, which was consequently scrapped when a new government came into power after public uproar.

A report from the institute published earlier this week again called for the scheme, saying “it is time for digital ID”.

“Citizens are rightly expecting the government to deliver common-sense solutions or make way,” the report said. “Digital ID is one such solution – and there is a massive political upside for those who embrace it. Build a system that works and voters will respond.

“A modern digital ID does three things,” it continued. “It allows people to prove that they are who they say they are, prove that certain things about them are true, and seamlessly and securely access services on that basis. Far from reflecting the ‘papers, please’ caricature of an ID card, digital ID is the foundation of a new system that brings fairness, control and convenience to people’s everyday interactions with each other and with the state.”

In 2023, public response to a government consultation on data sharing for digital ID found that the public were expressing strong concerns around data privacy in particular. The government added that many of the individuals responding to the consultation said they were wrongfully concerned about the potential compulsory roll-out of ID cards.