Support for UK digital ID coalesces in Labour leadership

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly “seriously” considering the introduction of a digital identity system, with the government analyzing the feasibility of a unique digital identifier for all British residents.

Although no announcements are expected imminently, Starmer has ordered a “comprehensive and expansive look” at the role technology can play in government, including digital ID, according to an unnamed senior minister cited by The Observer.

“Keir is leading on it,” they say. “This is a serious piece of work. After a year in government, it is clear that technology is underpinning everything. Digital ID is foundational. Things are moving forward.”

Cabinet ministers and members of the Number 10 Policy Unit, which provides advice directly to the Prime Minister, also said that the proposal has overwhelming support in the parliamentary party. The digital ID scheme is currently backed by Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and other Labour figures.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who has been resistant to the idea of introducing a national system in the past, is no longer opposed to the policy “in principle.” The only hurdle left is the practical issues, such as making sure that elderly people and people without phones are not excluded, says the report.

The digital ID would be used to modernize public services, including healthcare and welfare, improve “right to rent” and “right to work” checks and crack down on illegal migration, but cost estimates have varied wildly.

Tony Blair’s Institute as a driver for digital IDs

The Labour Party has been divided on ID documents since the early 2000s, when Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government proposed compulsory IDs. The idea was abandoned in 2010. The current migration crisis and the need to make public services more convenient, however, have made digital IDs more appealing both to the government and the public.

Soon after Starmer took over the helm, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change began calling for a comprehensive government digital ID program. A paper on digital IDs, released by the Institute and commissioned by Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, appears to have been a huge driver for the current Labour government to accept the idea, per The Observer.

In June, Partisan thinktank Labour Together released a proposal for a “BritCard,” a national smartphone-based verifiable digital identity credential that would be issued to every adult in the country. The digital ID would be built on the existing One Login and Gov.UK Wallet, which would be rebranded as the BritCard app, according to the thinktank, formerly led by McSweeney.

Article Topics

BritCard  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  government services  |  Tony Blair Institute  |  UK digital ID