BritCard: UK Prime Minister Starmer Mandates Digital ID For All. 'You Will Not Be Able To Work In The UK If You Do Not Have Digital ID'
"In designing the digital ID scheme, the government will ensure that it works for those who aren’t able to use a smartphone, with inclusion at the heart of its design."
After it was widely speculated that the United Kingdom was set to debut a digital ID system, today Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that digital ID will not only become a reality, it will be obligatory to hold a job.
For context - following the passage of the country’s controversial Online Safety Act that mandates age verification to access most websites, the country indicated that formal digital ID was coming soon thereafter, announcing project “Verify” that forces British businesses to accept digital IDs and directors of businesses will have to get their legal identity biometrically approved, which will commence on November 18th, 2025.
Last week, The WinePress reported that Starmer was seriously considering rolling out a digital ID, at the strong recommendation of the likes of French President Emmanuel Macron and former U.K. PM Tony Blair, to tackle the massive illegal immigration problems and illegal labor.
PM Starmer told the BBC:
“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.”
Asked whether a new scheme could play a role in reducing the attractiveness of the UK as a destination for illegal migrants, he added: “My instinct is it can play an important part. Obviously we need to look through some of the detail.”
He added that, two decades on from the row over New Labour’s physical ID card scheme, the public was likely to “look differently” at a digital-based scheme. He did not confirm whether any new digital ID scheme would be mandatory.
Today, during the Global Progress Action Summit 2025 in London, Starmer formally announced the introduction of a mandatory digital ID where he reiterated its necessity to tackle undocumented labor and workers. He also revealed that in order to have a job Brits must also receive a digital ID.
“But the simple fact that every nation needs to have control over its borders. We do need to know who is in our country.
“Today, I am announcing this government will make a new free of charge digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this Parliament.
“Let me spell that out: You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It's as simple as that. Because decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them. And of course, the truth is we won't solve our problems if we don't also take on the root causes.”
The U.K. published a press release explaining how the digital ID scheme will be rolled out:
A new digital ID scheme will help combat illegal working while making it easier for the vast majority of people to use vital government services. Digital ID will be mandatory for Right to Work checks by the end of the Parliament.
The scheme will be available to all UK citizens and legal residents, saving time by ending the need for complicated identity checks which often rely on copies of paper records.
Instead, the roll-out will in time make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records. The new digital ID will be held on people’s phones, just as millions already use the NHS App or contactless mobile payments.
There will be no requirement for individuals to carry their ID or be asked to produce it - but digital ID will be mandatory as a means of proving your Right to Work.
This will stop those with no right to be here from being able to find work, curbing their prospect of earning money, one of the key “pull factors” for people who come to the UK illegally.
It will send a clear message that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to work, deterring people from making these dangerous journeys.
This initiative builds on the government’s crackdown on illegal working and its mission to control borders as part of the Plan for Change. Under this government, illegal working arrests have soared by 50%, and new legislation is being brought forward to help stop illegal working in the gig economy. The proposals also follow the government’s success in deporting the first illegal migrants under the landmark UK-France returns deal last week.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
“I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country. A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering.
“Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure. And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly - rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.
“We are doing the hard graft to deliver a fairer Britain for those who want to see change, not division. That is at the heart of our Plan for Change, which is focused on delivering for those who want to see their communities thrive again.”
The plan will combat criminal gangs who promise access to the UK labour market in order to profit from dangerous, illegal channel crossings. A new streamlined digital system to check Right to Work will simplify the process, drive up compliance, crack down on forged documents and create intelligence data on businesses that are conducting checks to help the Home Office take action on employers who are hiring illegally.
Building on the work already underway to roll out a GOV.UK digital wallet, the digital ID will sit on people’s phones, alongside the digital driving licence which the government has already announced plans to introduce.
The government will listen to a range of views on how the service will be delivered, as part of a public consultation to be launched later this year.
In designing the digital ID scheme, the government will ensure that it works for those who aren’t able to use a smartphone, with inclusion at the heart of its design. The public consultation will engage with groups who aren’t as experienced with the digital world, like the homeless and older people, learning from other countries that have done this well.
The scheme will be rolled out alongside an outreach programme, including face-to-face support for citizens who are struggling to access the scheme.
This will result in a service that takes the best aspects of the digital identification systems that are already up and running around the world:
In Australia, citizens can access a range of private services, from banking to buying alcohol, with their digital identification, reducing the need for multiple separate accounts and pieces of paper.
In Estonia, digital ID has revolutionised parents’ lives by enabling access to child benefits, health records and applications for nursery places seamlessly, never having to provide the same information twice.
In Denmark, students can use their national digital ID to log in and automatically retrieve education records and qualifications in job and university applications.
And in India, the government has saved around US $10 billion annually by reducing fraud and leakages in welfare schemes.
The new plans will offer significant benefits for reducing identity theft and preserving privacy, with security at its core. Digital ID limits personal details being shared unnecessarily, by only sharing the relevant information for the specific scenario in question. It will also use state-of-the-art encryption and user authentication to ensure data is held and accessed securely.
Additional information:
The digital ID system is designed with best-in-class security at its core. Digital credentials will be stored directly on people’s own device - just like contactless payment cards or the NHS App today.
The system uses state-of-the-art encryption and authentication technology that’s already protecting millions of digital transactions daily. If a phone is lost or stolen, the digital credentials can be immediately revoked and reissued, providing better security than traditional physical documents.
The new digital ID will be the authoritative proof of who someone is and their residency status in this country. It will therefore include name, date of birth, information on nationality or residency status, and a photo - as the basis for biometric security – just like an eVisa or Passport. The consultation will consider whether including additional information, like address, would be helpful.
Tony Blair has long been a staunch advocate for digital ID, describing them as the “great enabler.” In a 2023 paper published by his institute, the group also lauded digital ID as a means of tackling immigration. On top of that - as is alluded to in Starmer’s press release - digital ID transcends smartphones but exists in a much greater digital ethos that can function anywhere and everywhere.
“This great enabler is digital identity. Not just a new piece of identity, but a new system for managing the information we share with government that is suited to the way we live our lives today. It is a digital wallet for every individual that gives them access to their documents (for example, driving license) and control of their data.
“The new ecosystem should make life easier for people and allow them to use their digital identity in many different contexts – not only to log in to government services but also to access commercial goods and services. This could enable them to prove they have a driving license when renting a car or verify their age online. It should also be accessible to everyone, regardless of whether they own a smartphone.”
Upon Starmer’s announcement also came plenty of pushback from Brits and Westerners alike.
Online petitions have been signed to reject the digital ID.
Big Brother Watch has also published a lengthy document listing the many issues with digital ID and why Brits should reject it.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
It is also worth noting that the United Nations this week published a new set of guidelines and principles for digital ID development (which I will be covering in a separate report). Digital ID is a major goal of the United Nations, as I have covered before, as the digital IDs encompass nearly all 17 of their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); namely SDG 16.9 which calls for a national birth record for everyone by 2030.
I know there are a lot of people online saying this is the mark of the beast. No, it isn’t, but it is definitely a big step in that direction.
Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: [17] And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. [18] Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is on a similar trajectory, but Americans are blissfully unaware that it is coming.
The immigration ruse is the ‘synthesis’ in the Hegelian Dialectic, after purposefully allowing illegals to flood Western countries for decades, after they don’t assimilate with the culture, steal jobs and ruin society, the government comes in to save the day.
People forget that Donald Trump campaigned on this the first time by promising a biometric global tracking system, though it never really materialized. However, this time around, he definitely is working to bring that in; and foolish red hats and Republicans will cheer for this, and they’ll accept Peter Thiel’s pre-crime surveillance state, and while they’ll still lose their jobs and go broke, and are replaced with imported labor and robots.
Fortunately, people in the U.K. are seeing past this malarky from Starmer and are pushing back, so there is a chance this could get delayed once again; and we too need to remain vigilant and fight against these things.
The thing that is most telling about the digital ID scheme is the emphasis that it would work without a smartphone. That changes the dynamics. Owning a smartphone is a crucial reason for having digital IDs in the first place, but the way these globalists are framing it, even a smartphone is unnecessary: the ID becomes your existence based on what you do; and this was proven recently with YouTube requiring biometric age verification based on watch and search history. That, combined with legal documents and tax filings, makes up your digital ID and social credit that the state will curate for you in a tokenized economy, with or without the phone.
Biometric Update noted: Many people and members of the media in the UK add “cards” to the end of the phrase “digital ID” as a matter of course, but the plan is to issue credentials to mobile phones. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander noted on BBC Radio Scotland that “it’s not called a BritCard, and it isn’t even a card.”
The Lord Of Glory: The Detailed Guide To Who God Is – Available Now!
On one of his missionary journeys, the apostle Paul visited Athens, Greece, where he said he witnessed “the city wholly given to idolatry,” and who were “too superstitious” and worshipped a plurality of gods and deities, though the people acknowledged that there was still one God above all that was a mystery to them. When questioned by the philosophers …
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
The WinePress needs your support! If God has laid it on your heart to want to contribute, please prayerfully consider donating to this ministry. If you cannot gift a monetary donation, then please donate your fervent prayers to keep this ministry going! Thank you and may God bless you.
Well, like you say, Americans are blissfully unaware of what's coming. My husband got a taste of the complete ignorance of his sister, who's husband is a pastor. She thought the "memorial" of Charlie Kirk was just beautiful and great. There's no waking these people up. My husband asked if there was anyone left anymore with a brain. Our whole family is for Trump. My husband and I see all of the masonic sign flashing from these "Elites" and we try to tell people and they just won't question anything anymore. They are literally gone. We've never seen anything like it. They believe everything they are told and see on TV. These people are literally off of the deep end. My husband was walking around all day today just flabergasted, saying he just can't believe people are so stupid. Yep, they'll walk us all into a digital ID.
It’s a step closer to the mark, but not the actual mark itself. The body of Christ on this earth will be caught up before that.
As for me personally, if and when the US government decides to bring in this DI I Will NOT summit to it PERIOD.