📺 This morning, I joined Mike Graham on TalkTV to cut through the spin on Starmer’s proposed “Brit Card” Digital ID.
Starmer’s Big Pitch
Keir Starmer set out his case for a “Brit Card” digital ID saying:
“For too many years it’s been too easy for people to come here, slip into the shadow economy and remain here illegally... That is why 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. You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It’s as simple as that.”
Starmer frames this as a clampdown on illegal working and migration.
However, the evidence across Europe suggests that digital ID has not halted shadow economies, nor has it prevented illegal migration.
If you want a deeper dive on how ID cards are being sold as fixes while failing to deliver, you can read my earlier piece “ID Cards Won’t Stop the Boats — Just Fool the Voters” here: https://www.statsjamie.co.uk/p/id-cards-wont-stop-the-boats-just
Germany – Digital ID since 2010 – Digital ID since 2010
Germany introduced its electronic ID card (eID) in 2010
Yet undeclared work is rising. In 2025, cash-in-hand jobs are estimated at €511 billion, over 11% of GDP, according to the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IAW) and Prof. Friedrich Schneider at the University of Linz
A big driver? High taxes and social contributions are pushing people into the shadow economy.
💬 Commentary: If the government wants to cut illegal working, the solution is cutting taxes — not rolling out a digital ID.
Italy – Digital ID since 2001
The modern era of Italian digital identity began in the mid-2010s with the rollout of the current-generation CIE 3.0 in 2016.
According to UNHCR data, nearly 1 million people have arrived in Italy by boat since 2015
Already 50,000 people by boat in 2025 alone.
💬 Commentary: ID cards haven’t stopped the boats. Migration pressures are primarily driven by geography and smuggling networks — not paperwork and documentation.
Greece – Digital ID since 2022
Greece launched its Gov.gr Wallet digital ID and driving licence in 2022.
In 2025 alone, 32,854 people have already arrived. Just a few months ago, the government even suspended asylum rights for arrivals from North Africa, overriding ECHR protections.
💬 Commentary: If digital ID worked, Greece wouldn’t have had to take such drastic emergency measures.
Spain – Digital ID since 2006
Spain introduced its DNIe electronic ID in 2006.
Yet around 30,000 people are working illegally in agriculture today, according to a report in The Guardian
Spain is also regularising around 300,000 undocumented migrants per year to fill labour shortages.
💬 Commentary: If ID solved illegal working, Spain wouldn’t need mass regularisation schemes.
France – Digital ID since 2021
France rolled out its biometric Carte Nationale d’Identité Électronique (CNIe) in 2021.
Yet it remains plagued by North African drug gangs and migration pressures.
💬 Commentary: If ID cards were the answer, France wouldn’t be facing these issues on such a scale.
Digital ID: A Distraction, Not a Solution
Digital ID is being sold as a solution. But the evidence shows otherwise:
It does not stop illegal working.
It does not stop the boats.
It does not stop gangs.
This wasn’t in Labour’s manifesto. There is no mandate for it.
Starmer is pushing Digital ID as a distraction ahead of the Labour Party conference — shifting attention from his failures as Prime Minister and Rachel Reeves’ failing economy.
We’ve seen this before: vaccine passports, low-traffic neighbourhoods, and now Brit Cards. Schemes sold as “common sense” fixes but which achieve little, while freedoms are chipped away bit by bit.
👉 The evidence is clear: Digital ID won’t stop the boats, won’t stop illegal working, and won’t solve the migration crisis.
✍️ Jamie Jenkins
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