Debate contribution: Digital ID Scheme

Debate contribution by Ms Paula Bradshaw on 29 September 2025.

MLA

Ms Paula Bradshaw

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

29 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Matter of the Day

Heading

Digital ID Scheme

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5138690

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for accepting this Matter of the Day. On Friday, the Prime Minister announced plans for a UK-wide digital ID card scheme — a so-called BritCard — that people would need in order to prove their right to work. My honest interpretation is that the scheme is trying to fix a problem that does not really exist. There is no wave of people slipping through the net that justifies such a heavy-handed approach. To me, it looks less like a practical solution and more like a political gesture that plays into an ever-growing and dangerous anti-immigrant agenda, rather than dealing with the real issues that people face here and across the UK. We do not need a digital ID card to tell us who can work and who cannot; that system already exists. Right-to-work checks, visa controls and employer liability rules address the majority of that perceived problem. Furthermore, making it a mandatory requirement will not automatically prevent fraud: it will just promote a dangerous narrative and shift the blame. I think that most people here can see straight through that, and that it will just not work for Northern Ireland. In fact, in the past few days, I have been struck by how many people in the Chamber and beyond, in political parties, have commented on the issue. It is infrequent that we see so many politicians here singing from the same hymn sheet. I look forward to hearing other people's contributions. We have a particular settlement here in Northern Ireland. People are entitled to be British, Irish or both. It is an individual's prerogative. That sits at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement. Forcing everyone into a single UK identity card system risks completely cutting across that right, reopening questions and tensions that should be left protected and untouched. Furthermore, there is the blatant issue of practicality in day-to-day living here in Northern Ireland. Thousands of people live in the South and work in the North, and vice versa. As we often see with UK legislation that is applied to Northern Ireland, none of that appears to have been thought through with regard to the realities of our existence here.

Finally, there is the question of trust. If all the data is put in one place, it will be a huge target. People are right to ask who will hold the information, how secure it will be and what it will be used for, but perhaps those questions are for another day. The proposal may be worth pursuing by others across the UK, but it is an issue of identity and everyday life here. At the weekend, we saw what people in Northern Ireland think of the proposal. While social media posts and press statements are important and influential in a way, it is important that we address the issue in the Chamber so that we, as elected representatives to the Assembly, can put our opinions on the record. I thank everyone in advance for their contributions.

503 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:17 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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