Illegal immigration is the Trojan Horse of choice to deliver mandatory digital ID: perspective
Using illegal immigration as the catalyst, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly set to mandate digital ID in the UK while the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change claims 62 percent of Britons are in favor of digital identity schemes.
British media is awash today with the news that by Friday the UK government will be announcing a compulsory digital identity scheme for all adult Britons.
“A well-designed, modern digital-ID system can disrupt the drivers of illegal migration, making it harder to work or reside in the UK unlawfully”
Tony Blair Institute, “Time for Digital ID: A New Consensus for a State That Works,” September 2025
“Most recently, the debate over digital ID has been dominated by its potential to help reduce illegal migration inflows and address public concerns that the government has lost control of Britain’s borders”
Tony Blair Institute, “Time for Digital ID: A New Consensus for a State That Works,” September 2025
On Wednesday, the the Blair Institute published a paper called “Time for Digital ID: A New Consensus for a State That Works” that also uses people’s frustration about illegal immigration as a main reason to mandate digital IDs.
The report also highlights a Blair Institute-sponsored survey conducted by Yonder Consulting that claims the majority of people in the country are in favor of this scheme.
However, when looking at the Yonder survey data, it never asks those surveyed if they would be in favor of digital ID being “compulsory” or “mandatory” — those words don’t exist anywhere in the data.
“A digital ID ‘superapp’ should become the government’s flagship project – a symbol of tangible change and the Reimagined State in action”
Tony Blair Institute, “Time for Digital ID: A New Consensus for a State That Works,” September 2025
“Far from reflecting the ‘papers, please’ caricature of an ID card, digital ID is the foundation of a new system that brings fairness, control and convenience to people’s everyday interactions with each other and with the state”
Tony Blair Institute, “Time for Digital ID: A New Consensus for a State That Works,” September 2025
Most of the questions in the survey don’t even mention digital ID, but rather ask respondents how they would feel about a “government app” that could help with things like fixing potholes, if technology could be useful for government services, who they were voting for, if they watched the news, and what they thought about immigration before finally asking: to what extent would you now support or oppose the UK introducing a digital ID system?
Participants were never asked if they were in favor of mandatory digital ID schemes, only if they supported “introducing” such systems.
“Public-opinion research commissioned by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), published for the first time in this paper, shows that digital ID enjoys majority support among the British public, with 62 percent in favor and just 19 percent opposed”
Tony Blair Institute, “Time for Digital ID: A New Consensus for a State That Works,” September 2025
Here are the actual questions from the YONDER survey:
- Thinking about the last few years, can you say whether you have felt at all inconvenienced by any of the following?
- Having to scan or post paper ID documents like your passport, to prove your identity
- Being locked out of online accounts due to forgotten passwords or difficulty verifying your identity
- Needing to provide copies of utility bills or bank statements to prove your address
- Not having a passport or ID to hand when outside your house when needing to prove your age or identity
- Delays or difficulty because your medical records are not automatically shared between providers
- Confusion or delays over voter registration/eligibility, when your details have changed
- Repeatedly having input things like your NHS or National Insurance number, when trying to access different services
- Long queues or delays at the UK border or passport eGates
- Having to book and attend in-person appointments, to confirm details or sign documents
- Some are suggesting the government should introduce a new app, allowing instant access to a range of public services. For each of the following features, can you say whether you would or would not want the function to be included if such an app were introduced?
- Reporting potholes or road maintenance issues
- Reporting missed bin collections
- Reporting fly tipping
- Accessing or managing benefits
- Reporting non-emergency crimes
- Checking or claiming tax refunds
- Applying for school places
- Viewing student loan balances
- Voting or registering to vote
- Receiving official notifications
- Viewing personal records
- Thinking about the following policy challenges facing the government… Do you think there is digital technology that could help tackle these issues but is not being fully used by the government at the moment — or do you think the government is already using digital technology to appropriate effect in these areas?
- Advocates of a Digital ID argue it would enable you to prove your identity, store key facts about yourself in a way that is convenient and secure, and help you more easily access a broad range of public and private digital services. For each of the following things, would you prefer them to be run by the government, or run by private sector companies?
- A Digital ID that holds key details about you, such as your qualifications or that you have a driving license
- A Digital ID that can personalize government services, for example through an app on your phone
- If a general election was held tomorrow, for which party would you vote, if you would vote at all?
- During a typical week, how often, if at all, do you read, watch, or listen to the news?
- How confident are you in your digital skills? By digital skills, we mean the ability to use digital devices (like smartphones, tablets, or laptops) and the internet safely and confidently?
- For each pair of statements please pick one answer that you agree with more, or haven’t you thought much about it?
- A) The country should use digital technology as a core part of all public services
B) The country should limit the use of digital technology in public services - A) Technology is generally making life better
B) Technology is generally making life worse - A) I am generally optimistic about the future
B) I am generally pessimistic about the future - A) The world is in a better place than it was 30 years ago
B) The world is in a worse place than it was 30 years ago - A) I prefer not to adopt new technology until I have to
B) I am always one of the first ones among friends and family to adopt new technology - A) The government knows too much about us as individuals
B) The government should know more about us as individuals - A) Regulation tends to make things better
B) Regulation tends to make things worse - A) Civil liberties such as the right to privacy or the right to protest should be protected at all costs
B) Sometimes, there are instances where civil liberties such as the right to privacy or the right to protest need to be curbed - A) Immigration, on the whole, has made the country better off
B) Immigration, on the whole, has made the country worse off
- A) The country should use digital technology as a core part of all public services
- How well or poorly do you think the following public services are functioning?
- The NHS
- Social care
- The police
- Schools
- Public transport (e.g. buses and trains)
- The Home Office (monitoring who has the right to work in the UK)
- The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) (e.g. monitoring benefits/welfare payments
- To what extent, if at all, do you think the following bodies/organizations can be trusted to hold and use personal data safely and securely?
- Home Office
- My local council
- The Police
- The NHS
- Department of Education
- Banks
- Private healthcare providers
- Private pension providers
- HMRC
- Private businesses in general
- Part of the purpose of digital ID, according to those who propose it, is to allow government bodies tland public services like the NHS, schools, and the police to be run more effectively by allowing them to make better use of data. For example, a ‘digital learner ID’ within the education system might collect data about a student’s progress to understand how they learn, which areas they need to focus on, and how they might be best supported to achieve better educational outcomes for their individual needs.
To what extent, if at all, do you believe that collecting data in this way and storing it digitally would benefit or not benefit public services, like the education system or the health system? - Having thought more about it, to what extent would you now support or oppose the UK introducing a digital ID system?
A digital identity doesn’t have to be required or mandated to address any of the questions in the Blair-sponsored Yonder survey.
Nevertheless, the takeaway from the 12 survey questions is that “digital ID enjoys majority support among the British public, with 62 per cent in favor and just 19 per cent opposed.”
“Contrary to prevailing perceptions, the survey found strong, majority public support across Britain for the introduction of a digital-ID system. After the data-sharing implications and public-policy applications of digital ID are presented, 62 percent support the idea, compared with just 19 percent who oppose it”
Tony Blair Institute, “Time for Digital ID: A New Consensus for a State That Works,” September 2025
“This digital identity determines what products, services and information we can access – or, conversely, what is closed off to us“
WEF, “Identity in a Digital World: A new chapter in the social contract,” September 2018
Illegal immigration is the Trojan Horse of choice to deliver compulsory digital ID in the UK.
With the push for mandatory digital ID schemes being years in the making, open border policies make a lot of sense when you think in terms of the infamous strategy of problem-reaction-solution.
You have something you want to implement (the solution), so you create a problem that gets a reaction from the public, so that they beg you for the solution you wanted to implement in the first place.
Illegal immigration is just what is hot in the public’s attention right now, so that’s the excuse the current administration is going with — striking hard at the right moment after years of waiting — true to its Fabian roots.
And the agenda to rollout digital ID is indeed a long time coming: COVID, climate, CBDCs, conflict, cybersecurity, convenience — take your pick — there’s always a digital ID plot for any given reason.
Digital IDs can go from being convenient to quickly turning into tools for tyranny at any moment.
All it takes is a perceived threat, a declaration of emergency, or something as simple as a new administration in charge, and your digital ID can be used to shut you up online, shut you out of your bank account, shut you down in business, and shut you off from participating in many aspects of society if you don’t comply with whatever rules, laws, or terms of services are currently in place.
Disagreeing with medical intervention mandates, carbon footprint tracking, or the accepted narratives on climate change, foreign conflicts, or elections could all be flagged in your digital identity, thus affecting your level of access to information, goods, and services.
As yours truly first warned nearly five years ago here on The Sociable, “Your digital identity can be used against you in the event of a great reset.”
When incentivization fails, coercion and force are ready to take its place.
Image Source: AI generated with Grok
