UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Announces Mandatory Digital ID Plan, Sparking Widespread Backlash
LONDON – In a major policy announcement, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has revealed plans to introduce a mandatory digital ID card for all adults in Britain by 2029. The proposal, which has immediately drawn fierce criticism from across the political spectrum and the public, aims to combat illegal immigration and streamline identity verification.
The digital ID, referred to as the ‘Brit card,’ will be a phone-based system designed to verify an individual’s eligibility to work and live in the UK. The government’s stated goal is to make the system law by the end of the current Parliament, positioning it as a modern replacement for physical documents like passports and driver’s licenses for checks conducted by employers and landlords.
However, the announcement has been met with significant opposition. Critics from nearly all major parties, including members of Starmer’s own Labour Party, the Conservatives, Reform UK, and the SNP, have raised alarms over profound privacy concerns and the implications of a compulsory state-run ID system.
The public response has been swift, with a petition against the plan rapidly surpassing 900,000 signatures. The strong reaction was echoed on social media, where one user, echoing the sentiment of many critics, posted a segment of the announcement with the comment: “Wow – Took a year for Keir Starmer to turn into a fully blown Fascist Communist.”
The government now faces a challenging path forward as it attempts to balance its stated aims of security and modernization against a formidable wall of concern over civil liberties and state overreach.
