Keir Starmer has set out his vision for digital IDs as he fights to win back public support for the scheme.
The prime minister’s plan for digital IDs was met with criticism when it was announced last month, and was described as a symptom of his “reverse Midas touch”.
Concerns have been raised over civil liberties and cybersecurity, but Starmer insisted that the identification system would never be needed to get into hospital after fears about its potential impact on accessing public services and data protection.
He told staff at a Barclays branch in Brighton on Thursday that digital ID would “really help” with security for customers after they told him they dealt with victims of scams and fraud every day.
He said customers at the bank had told him they were “really excited about it” and had relayed “everyday examples where you can just cut the faff”.
He also told the BBC: “You’ll never need ID to get into a hospital or anything like that. And for people who simply don’t want it, well, they don’t need it, apart from the right to work, because we do need to stop people working illegally in our country to do that.”
He said “it won’t be the case” that digital ID could end up being used for surveillance.
“The idea of having ID on your phone is not that far removed from having bank accounts on your phone or any other apps that people have on their phones,” he said.
In a video posted to X, Starmer said the Barclays customers he had spoken to were “really up for it” and “I think once you understand just how much easier it’ll make life, so many more people will be too.”
More than 2.9 million people have signed a petition against the measures and net support for digital ID cards fell from 35% in the early summer to -14% after Starmer’s announcement in September, according to polling by More in Common.
The government believes digital IDs could be given to every British citizen and legal resident, so even those without passports or driving licences can open a bank account, get a job or apply for a mortgage, letting people prove who they are digitally instead of sending physical documents or paying for private verification services.
Peter Hyman, a former adviser to Starmer and Tony Blair, told an event during the Labour party conference in Liverpool that the plans would be “dead in the water” within six months because ministers had failed to make a convincing case for them.
Hyman said the scheme’s opponents were “motoring” ahead and that Downing Street should enlist social media influencers to “nail down all the objections” and respond to proliferating conspiracy theories to rescue the policy.
The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, Max Wilkinson, said: “Keir Starmer is trying to put lipstick on a very expensive pig. Relaunching this scheme for the second time this month won’t change the fact it is intrusive, expensive and unnecessary.”
