Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce a new digital ID scheme, dubbed the “Brit-Card,” in a major speech on Friday. The plan, first flagged by The i Paper, aims to verify the right to live and work in the UK — but it won’t come without debate and likely new legislation.
What Is the Brit-Card?
The Brit-Card will serve as a digital ID, checked via smartphone app. Anyone starting a new job or renting property will need to show their card. This will be instantly verified against a england/Waleswales/Centralcentral-wales/”>central/”>central database confirming their UK residency and work rights.
The scheme Hopeshopes to crack down on illegal working, especially in sectors like delivery services where undocumented labour is rife.
A Return to ID Cards – But Digital
The UK hasn’t had mandatory ID cards since wartime, with the last system scrapped Wayway Backback in 1952. Starmer argues this digital update is overdue.
Keir Starmer on Brit-Card: “It’s not Whitehall dictating what’s going to be done, it’s people with skin in the game.” Tweet
Why Now? Pressure From Macron and Rising Arrivals
The push follows calls from French President Emmanuel Macron to cut “pull factors” for migrants heading to the UK. Immigration is surging, with 1,157 people arriving on small boats last week alone, according to Home Office figures.
Starmer will deliver his speech at the Global Progress Action Summit in London, alongside world leaders like Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Canadian PM Mark Carney.
Earlier this month, Starmer told the BBC an ID card system could be “an important part” in halting illegal migration. “We all carry a lot more digital ID now than we did 20 years ago, and I think that, psychologically, it plays a different part,” he said.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has also backed the idea, adding momentum to this long-debated policy. www.uknip.co.uk/where/united-kingdom/england/east-of-england/essex
