Government backtracks on digital ID

No longer compulsory for job seekers

The government has rolled back a key part of its plans to introduce a digital identity scheme by the end of this parliament.

People will no longer be required to sign up to the digital ID scheme in order to seek work in the UK.

Announced out of the blue in September, Kier Starmer described the planned ID scheme, dubbed “BritCard” by commentators, as a key tool in efforts to stop illegal immigration. "You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It's as simple as that," he stated.

Digital ID is also promoted by the Tony Blair Institute as a key part of modernising government.

However, as previous governments have found, there is little public appetite for mandatory digital ID and national identity database. Almost three million people have signed a petition calling for the scheme to be abandoned, while several Labour MPs have reportedly made their opposition known. Mandatory ID is also opposed by all major opposition parties and many civil rights groups, with cybersecurity experts warning of the dangers of maintaining a centralised pool of highly sensitive data.

There are also concerns about the practicality and fairness of the scheme, given that it would presumably oblige citizens to carry smartphones.

According to the government, people seeking work will still be required to verify their identity by digital means, rather than the mix of paperwork currently in place, but the process will no longer be centralised in one digital ID.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today, transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “At the moment, we've got a paper-based system. There's no proper records kept. It makes it very difficult, then, to target enforcement action sensibly against businesses that are employing illegal workers. So, another type of a digital ID check could be, for example, a biometric chip in a passport.”

Digital ID was sold both as a way of streamlining public services, following the example of countries like Estonia and other European nations, and also as a way of tackling illegal immigration – an issue on which the government was particularly keen to sound tough.

Former home secretary Lord Blunkett, a proponent of digital ID who failed to deliver biometric IDs in the 2000s, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the reversal, putting it down to a communications failure.

“I'm not surprised because the original announcement was not followed by a narrative or supportive statements or any kind of strategic plan which involved other ministers and those who are committed to this actually making the case,” he said on Today.

But while a digital ID scheme could help rationalise and modernise the delivery government services, it’s effectiveness against illegal immigration is questionable. Along with the cost, estimated at £1.8 billion, it seems the pros are outweighed by the cons in the mind of the UK public.

While a majority support physical ID cards (58%, Ipsos, July 2025) that number falls for digital ID, which is supported by between 27% (Electoral Calculus/GB News, September 2025) and 38% (Ipsos September 2025), according to recent polls.

The main concerns about a digital ID are large‑scale data breaches, government mismanaging personal data, loss of privacy and exclusion of older or non‑smartphone users (Survation, November 2025).

The now completely voluntary digital ID scheme is expected to be based on Gov.uk One Login, which has signed up 12 million people, and the Gov.uk wallet announced in January 2025, which is still in development.