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Labour has previously shied away from addressing concerns over immigration, Sir Keir Starmer has admitted.
The prime minister wrote in The Daily Telegraph that it is now “essential” to tackle “every aspect of the problem of illegal immigration”.
“There is no doubt that for years left-wing parties, including my own, did shy away from people’s concerns around illegal immigration,” he wrote.
“It has been too easy for people to enter the country, work in the shadow economy and remain illegally.”
Sir Keir said Labour is to introduce a free digital ID for adults that would be “mandatory for the right to work by the end of this parliament”.
It would require anyone starting a job or renting a home to show the “Brit card” on a phone app, which would then be checked against a database of those entitled to work and live here.
It’s hoped it would reduce the attraction of working in the UK illegally, including for delivery companies.
Workers currently have to show at least one form of physical ID, but there are concerns these can be faked.
The government said the ID would eventually “make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare”.
Read more:
The pros and cons of digital IDs – and do we need them?
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Would ‘BritCard’ reduce illegal migration?
A consultation will look at how the scheme could work for those who may not have a smartphone, such as older people or homeless people.
French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly warned that the lack of ID cards in the UK acts as a major…
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