UK's Digital ID Plan Faces Scrutiny: The Starmer Paradox

Published Date : 10/24/2025 

Legal consultant Richard Oliphant argues that Keir Starmer's proposed digital ID plan for mandatory right to work checks may be redundant and ineffective, suggesting an alternative approach. 

If the enforcement of mandatory right to work (RtW) checks with digital ID will significantly reduce the flow of illegal migrants to the UK, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer claims, then his plan should be abandoned in favor of the existing system. This is the position taken by legal consultant Richard Oliphant in a LinkedIn post.

Many observers have expressed skepticism that the digital ID plan will have an impact on illegal immigration to the UK, Oliphant points out. But any impact it does have would only come after the backing legislation – yet to be crafted, let alone introduced – receives Royal Assent. That will not happen, Oliphant says, before 2029.

Computer Weekly estimated earlier this month that the consultation process recently promised by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will take about a year. Draft legislation could then reach Parliament in 2027, and the scheme implemented as soon as mid-2028.

Oliphant calls this “The Starmer Paradox.” If the PM’s critics are correct, the plan will not have its intended effect. If the PM is right about the problem, its urgency, and solution, the government should turn to the 40-plus digital identity providers from the private sector already certified to perform digital RtW checks under the Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF), because they are ready to help now.

This piece of the ecosystem has been overlooked in commentary by the new proposal’s supporters like the Tony Blair Institute, Oliphant says. All that is needed, according to Oliphant, is for DSIT to expand the pertinent regulation. The supplementary code for digital right to work checks was published in June by the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) and DSIT. The change would make the current RtW checks with DIATF-certified identity service providers, which currently provide a “statutory excuse” if any illegal workers are found on their payroll, serve the same function as Starmer’s proposed, government-issued digital ID.

The result, Oliphant says, would be a system much closer to the blueprint proposed by Oliphant at the beginning of the month, which “jettisons the word ‘mandatory’” and side-steps “cross-party opposition which will inevitably turn a toxic proposal into Kryptonite at the ballot box in 2029.” 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What is the Starmer Paradox?

A: The Starmer Paradox is a term coined by legal consultant Richard Oliphant to describe the situation where Prime Minister Keir Starmer's proposed digital ID plan for right to work checks may be redundant and ineffective, despite its intended purpose of reducing illegal immigration.

Q: When is the digital ID plan expected to be implemented?

A: The digital ID plan is estimated to reach Parliament in 2027 and could be implemented as soon as mid-2028, according to estimates by Computer Weekly.

Q: What is the Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF)?

A: The Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) is a set of standards and guidelines that certify digital identity providers to perform right to work checks in the UK.

Q: Why are private sector digital identity providers overlooked?

A: Private sector digital identity providers, already certified under the DIATF, are overlooked because the focus has been on the government's proposed digital ID plan, despite their readiness to help now.

Q: What is the proposed alternative to the government's digital ID plan?

A: The proposed alternative is to expand the existing regulation to allow DIATF-certified identity service providers to perform right to work checks, effectively jettisoning the word 'mandatory' and avoiding cross-party opposition. 

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