Labour MPs have raised concerns about how the party’s mandatory digital ID scheme policy will lower illegal immigration.
The i Paper understands some in Government hope the move will help pave the way for an expanded one-in, one-out migrant returns deal with France.
But Labour MPs have been publicly, and privately, criticising the policy and arguing that it risks political backlash for minimal gain.
The controversial policy, unveiled by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer yesterday, will mean anyone who wants to work in the UK must use a document on their smartphone to prove their immigration status.
The Government hopes the IDs – which it said would be rolled out by the end of this parliament – would deter people from coming to the UK illegally.
Paris, and many other countries, have long called for such a policy to reduce the so-called “pull factor” driving people to try to enter the UK.
But some Labour MPs were skeptical about the material impact the ID mandate would have on illegal immigration.
On a call with ministers on Friday, there was “mass unhappiness” from the Labour parliamentary party.
Insiders said several MPs from across different wings of the party, including the “Red Wall, liberal elite, small towns”, were expressing concerns – and only one supported the plans.
The policy will require primary legislation to be passed before it can be introduced.
As a result, any backlash from Labour MPs could quickly turn into a brewing Commons rebellion for Starmer if No10 is not able to get a grip on it.
Those on the Labour benches who have been calling for action on small boat crossings told The i Paper the announcement had not struck the right note.
A Labour MP said: “Digitising right to work checks’ by the end of the parliament is not going to move the dial. It’s very low ambition. It’s not going to turn the focus groups of Darlington around, that’s for sure.”
“It feels like a baby step, over a super long time, and sadly the narrative has not been owned by the Government,” another MP said.
A third Labour complained the announcement “reeks of an administration with no politics, no personality and no pulse”.
“We could make the enthusiastic argument that bureaucracy makes accessing appropriate support a class-based divide and shuts out those in greatest need of support and full fat digital ID would unlock this. But instead, we’re having this civil liberties fight over nothing,” they said.
“And there’s a powerful pro ID argument but we can’t deploy it because we’re scared of our own shadow.”
Even those broadly in favour of the policy said that its effectiveness was dependent on the details of how it is designed.
“I think there could be a lot of advantages if it’s done well, for example easy access to medical records, applying for work, benefits, buying a house or renting,” one MP said.
“Obviously, the devil is in the detail and it needs to be done right. I know the media focus is on the immigration stuff but on the possibilities I think it could be great.”
A Labour aide argued there was less opposition among moderates in the party, describing ID cards as “a nice thing to have for younger people” that “will help a bit with illegal working and the feeling is if you’ve nothing to hide who’s bothered”.
“It helps that the public support it,” they added, referring to consistent polling suggesting adults are in favour of such a scheme. “The feeling is only the crank [party] leaders are against it for flawed libertarian reasons.”
And some have also raised concerns about the cost of the scheme, The i Paper understands. It is not yet clear how much taxpayer money would be needed to fund the rollout.
Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, said: “In a time when we’re struggling to find the money to invest in tackling child poverty it’s hard to see the case for spending billions to create a new Government IT project, especially when it’s unclear how it does anything more than the checks that already happen on illegal working.
“This needs a big rethink to be workable and to be affordable.”
The plans will see ID cards being stored on smartphones in the same way as contactless payment cards, or the NHS App, currently are.
People will not be required to carry the ID or asked to produce it, unless they are applying for a job and require the usual immigration checks.
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Cabinet minister Lisa Nandy said the digital document will only be needed as proof of the right to work.
“Although all UK citizens will have a digital ID, it will not be mandatory for people to use it. It will be entirely their choice,” she told Sky News.
Georgina Sturge, of Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, said the effectiveness of the scheme in clamping down illegal working would depend on how well it is enforced.
But she argued it could act as a deterrent for those attempting to enter the UK illegally, such as via small boats crossing the Channel.
And said the policy would be central to the government’s plans to expand its one-in, one-out asylum deal with France.
“The French have pointed out that, in their view, the fact the UK doesn’t have a digital ID card is a pull factor for people to come,” she said.
“So it’s possible that announcing this could make some difference to the relationship with the French over this issue and maybe that can have some kind of impact.”
She added: “At the moment, it’s on employers to check whether the people they are hiring have the right to work and the enforcement of that is by the Home Office doing periodic checks.
“We don’t know whether there is going to be a different system of enforcement for this and a lot of whether it works will depend on the implementation.
“You could still have a situation with employers that are not currently complying with the current system. It is possible that the same people just won’t check the right to work for employers, even if digital ID becomes a thing.”
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