ID Cards Are Not the Answer: Labour’s Desperate Dig for a Solution. Following the Labour Government’s sudden announcement to introduce electronic ID cards, the response has been less than equivocal—it has been a chorus of confusion and concern. The mandate for this is non-existent, and the arguments supporting it reek of political desperation.
Why has this spectre, long dead and buried from the Blair era, suddenly clawed its way back into the national debate?
The Starmer Calculus: A Quick Fix for a Complex Problem
It’s clear that the driver for this policy is a need for Keir Starmer to demonstrate action on two fronts: tackling problematic types of immigration and cracking down on black-market labour.
While Starmer might believe it’s a magic bullet, many across the political spectrum disagree that an ID card will significantly reduce overall immigration. It is even suggested that French authorities are lobbying for the cards to discourage migrants from entering the UK, effectively outsourcing their border control issues to us.
Yet, this policy is fundamentally flawed:
- The Black Economy is Already Shadowy: We already have robust checks and hefty fines for employers hiring illegal workers. Despite this, an estimated million undocumented migrants still work in a shadowy gig economy—renting out others’ Uber Eats accounts, using false papers, or simply avoiding formal employment. A new card will likely only push this activity further underground, creating more elaborate ways to game the system.
- A “Digital Underclass” Risk: Bad implementation risks creating a permanent underclass of the digitally excluded. Think of those without smartphones, fixed addresses, or the necessary documents. This is a cruel outcome for a policy intended to increase order.
The Problem with “Everyone Else Does It”
Proponents often point to Europe: “Spain, Germany, and France all have ID cards without a public revolt.” They are correct that these systems exist without mass popular “kickback,” but they are utterly wrong to suggest these countries have successfully controlled overall migration. That argument simply doesn’t hold up.
We are told that other nations, such as Poland and even Estonia (with its advanced digital ID), are not “vicious totalitarian Hells.” This is a deflection. For the UK, the hurdle is not efficiency; it is symbolism and exceptionalism.
The Libertarian Backlash: Privacy and Freedom
The UK is not lacking in forms of state identification: we have driving licences, NHS numbers, NI numbers, and passports. While the practical step to a single ID card may not be huge, the psychological leap is monumental.
A significant, vocal cohort—the civil libertarians liked Spiked — are dead against it. Their concerns are not hyperbolic: they fear the erosion of individual liberty, the chilling effect on free speech and free expression, and the potential for a surveillance state. Right wing critics like Matt Goodwin argue, a digital ID creates the infrastructure for potential state overreach into every aspect of a person’s life.
The Blair Playbook, Recycled
Perhaps the most damning critique is that this feels less like a new idea and more like a desperate rummage through the political attic. As Ben Sixsmith at The Critic suggests, the policy proves the government has simply run out of ideas.
The influence of Tony Blair is alarming. The ID card was a personal obsession of his, yet he was forced to scrap the scheme last time—but not before an estimated cost of £20 billion and the political realisation that it was a significant vote loser. For a “managerialist” government like Starmer’s, recycling an expensive failure to address a growing threat from Reform UK looks cynical and weak.
Yvette Cooper, now a Labour front-bencher, was only last year rightly stating: “it’s not in our manifesto.” The fact that a non-mandated, expensive, and divisive policy is now being prioritised raises serious questions about the government’s priorities and lack of new thinking.
The Real Solution?
The Right’s argument is that the true “pull factor” for illegal immigration is the combination of generous benefits, a flexible labour market, and, crucially, the use of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to block deportations.
Their suggested solution is drastic: leave the ECHR and repeal the Human Rights Act (HRA). While the international damage to the UK’s reputation is likely preventing Starmer from taking this enormous step, using a costly and controversial ID card as a weak substitute for a constitutional change only betrays a lack of nerve and a failure to find a robust, domestically viable solution.
By introducing this divisive, un-mandated policy, Starmer risks pleasing no one. Those worried about immigration will still turn to Reform or the Conservatives, while those who value fairness and rights will feel betrayed. Labour is handing its opponents an easy, emotive win.
The ID card is a political ghost from the past—and it’s a policy Labour should either have left buried or at least consulted the nation first.
