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WATCH IN FULL: Keir Starmer announces Digital ID cards in 'patriotic renewal' for British workers
Sep 26, 2025
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans to introduce digital ID cards in a bid for “patriotic renewal”.Speaking at the Global Progress Action summit in London, Sir Keir said: "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."Let me spell that out, you will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have Digital ID. It's as simple as that. Because decent, pragmatic, fair minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them."WATCH ABOVE.
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Now, this is a gathering of people bound by a common cause, the patriotic renewal of our
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nations that is underpinned by the values of dignity and respect, equality and fairness
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and the belief that social democratic means are the best way to pursue that goal. But
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it's also a room that puts paid to a story we often hear in the press these days that somehow
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our politics is dying out. Now yes we are in an era of huge challenge but we can take heart
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when we look around the world. In fact we only need to look around this room. Christian from
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Iceland, Pedro from Spain, Mark Carney who stormed to victory in Canada at the beginning
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of this year, followed by Albo in Australia, Anacorn Jonas in Norway just a few weeks ago
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So in fact, pitted against our right-wing opponents, I'd say centre-left parties are
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having quite a year so far. And not forgetting... Good morning, Pedro. We're just hailing you being here. But not forgetting, of course
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the Labour Party's victory in July of last year, getting a landslide victory here in
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the United Kingdom. So I'm sorry, I don't accept that argument that somehow our politics
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is dying out, but I do accept that it is now time for social democrats to confront directly
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some of the challenges and some of the lies, frankly, that have taken root in our societies
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Because we don't just hear these stories about our politics, we also hear stories about our great
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countries, our communities, our cities that simply do not match the reality that we see around us
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And it's very good to have you here in London. I hope you've enjoyed yourself here in our capital
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city, maybe gone out for breakfast this morning, popped into the pub for a pint last night
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maybe enjoyed the last rays of sunshine in our beautiful parks. And if you have done any of those
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things or other brilliant things in London, you may have noticed that this city isn't the wasteland
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of anarchy that some would have you believe. But that in a sense captures what we're up against
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doesn't it? And there are versions in all of your countries where places, institutions
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communities are portrayed in a way that is a million miles from reality, a sort of industrialized
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infrastructure of grievance, an entire world, not just a worldview, created through our devices
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that is miserable, joyless, and demonstrably untrue. And yet, in another way, and this is the
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challenge also totally cohesive because it preys on real problems in the real world
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identifies clear enemies. That's us, by the way. And at its heart, its most poisonous belief
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and this was on full display here in London just under two weeks ago that there a coming struggle a defining struggle a violent struggle for the nation for all of our nations And you don have to be a great historian to know
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where that kind of poison ends up. And you can just feel it in a language that is naked in its
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attempt to intimidate. Because it's not careless or accidental, it's part of a strategy. They want
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politics to be a choice between globalists and nationalists, to draw a dividing line between the
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elites and the people, in which somehow our rich story of patriotism and pride, our common cause
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with working people, our deep roots in the trade union movement and our communities, the desire and
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demand of working people for a voice in their future is claimed by those who have nothing in
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common with them or their values. Only a cynical intent to exploit their fears to benefit themselves
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That is what we're up against. So we must show our politics resolutely opposed to a status quo
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that doesn't deliver for working people. The worst thing we can do is to defend the status quo. It
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hasn't worked for working people. We must be determined to deliver change in their interests
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Patriotic renewal, rooted in our own national stories, restoring pride where people live and
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work. We fight for our values, decency, tolerance, respect. And most importantly
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we focus on the countries we can become through renewal. National renewal. Now, that's not a new
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argument for social democrats, but it is the beating heart of our politics. The nation state
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harnessing the potential of the whole country, providing security and opportunity for working
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people, together squaring up to the challenges of a world that is frankly more dangerous
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less secure than many of us have known in our lifetimes. We have to respond to that not by turning inward, but with even deeper solidarity, alliances
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and partnerships built upon common values. rules-based order that has kept the peace in our world since the last century. The coalition
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of the willing, strong not just because of the depth of our shared beliefs, but because
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we recognise that the security and safety of the people that we serve depends on our relationships
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willingness to stand up together across our different political traditions and not be
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cowed by tyranny. But to protect strength abroad, you do need security at home, economic
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stability, an approach to economic growth that can create wealth more fairly in the
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first place. Proud working-class towns and cities, so often disenchanted with mainstream
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politics because the economy does not work for them, and because that's been true for
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a very long time. And they're losing trust in our ability to deliver the change that
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they want to see. They don't want handouts or help. They want to stand on their own feet
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I give you an example from the United Kingdom Yesterday we announced billion to be spent by local people however they see fit in their communities
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Restoring a pub, reviving a community hall, reopening a youth club. But the important thing is not coming cap in hand to Whitehall to get the green light on a project
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on a project but actually allowing control to be with the communities where the funding is going so
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they can choose what it's spent on because those with skin in the game know what's best for their
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communities. It's about restoring control and agency, having the respect for working people to
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choose what's right for them and that is how they stand proudly as partners in a social democratic
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nation. So our approach to the economy, investment, yes, of course, in everything from defence
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to energy, creating good, well-paid jobs, industrial policy, yes, of course, our proud
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heritage of making things, relighting the fires and the factories across the country
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in public services, absolutely, for all of us, from healthcare to transport, and financial
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prudence which is non-negotiable. But it does also mean stripping out regulation so we can build more
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and build more quickly and the private sector can create wealth in every community. Now some people
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call this approach abundance. I have a different phrase for it, social democracy. But the way I see
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it, this is the defining political choice of our times. A politics of predatory grievance
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preying on the problems of working people and using that infrastructure of division
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against the politics of patriotic renewal, rooted in communities, building a better country
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brick by brick from the bottom up, including everyone in the national story. Difference
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under the same flag. Because wherever you are in the world, we all have our different national
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symbols. And what I'll say is this, we must fight for them. Stand up to those who tell us that
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there's a tension between our symbols of pride and symbols of inclusion, our multi-ethnic modern
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nation and our history and heritage. There is not. They are one and the same thing. That's the
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social democratic argument. It is a powerful one and we must never surrender it
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But of course you need more than symbols for nation building. You also need renewal
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and it's important to be really clear on this. Renewal is not just fixing problems in some
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managerial sense. That is important. Of course it is. People are very disappointed with the pace of
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change in government. It's so much slower than almost every other facet of their lives
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So we do have to speed up. Poor delivery is a threat to mainstream politics
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but renewal is a deeper argument. It means demonstrating to working people
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that as well as the economy the state is being run in their interests
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and that does mean we've got to look ourselves in the mirror and recognize where we've allowed
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our parties to shy away from people's concerns and let the politics of purity patronize people
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Now you will all have issues in your own countries but in Britain it illegal migration And I suspect that may be the same in a number of other countries
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For too many years it's been too easy for people to come here, slip into the shadow economy and remain here illegally
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Because, frankly, we've been squeamish about saying things that are clearly true
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It's not just that it's not compassionate left-wing politics to rely on labour that
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exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages, but the simple fact that every nation
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needs to have control over its borders. We do need to know who is in our country. Our
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immigration system does need to be fair if we want to maintain that binding contract
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that our politics is built on. Otherwise it undermines trust, undermines people's faith
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that we're on their side, and their belief that the state can and will work for them
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And that is why today I am announcing this government will make a new free of charge
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digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this Parliament. Let me spell
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that out. You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID
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It's as simple as that. Because decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the
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issues that they see around them. And of course the truth is, we won't solve our problems if we
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don't also take on the root causes, looking upstream to tackle poverty, conflict, climate
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change, issues that aren't just intolerable for those of us who care about inequality and
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injustice wherever it's found in the world, but which have clear consequences for our
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own citizens. Take Russia's aggression in Ukraine. We all have a responsibility for
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the future of our continent, to stand tall where oppression and violence rears its head
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But it is also about energy security, because Putin and other tyrants have used their control
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over energy supplies as a threat. They've pushed up energy bills, threatened to keep
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doing so unless they get their way. And that's why we're investing in our own energy, sovereign
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control over our own future, whether that's nuclear, wind, solar power. Now this will create
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good jobs, but it will also take the boot of tyrants like Putin off our throat. So our mission
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to become a clean energy superpower is about future-proofing energy supply, bringing energy
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bills down and protecting the planet that we all live on, doing right by our values and by our
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countries and our citizens. Because in this era we must be the nation builders, we must
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be the patriots in our countries, we must show working people that we and only we can
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deliver the pride and belonging they seek. Their community is strong, cohesive, change
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for the better, taking control of our future, tackling the big challenges, whether that's
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climate change or illegal migration, not shying away from them. That is how we win. That is how
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we rebuild. That's how renewal defeats grievance. Thank you very much for listening. Thank you very
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much for being here. I really appreciate it. Thank you very much
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