Labour revives ID cards idea to reduce irregular immigration

Stephen Kinnock in London last year. He says the Labour party is considering a UK identity card scheme ‘very, very carefully indeed’. Photograph: Laurel Chor/Getty

The shadow immigration minister has raised the prospect of a Labour government introducing ID cards to help count how many people there are in Britain and reduce irregular immigration.

According to Stephen Kinnock, the party is considering proposals to require everyone to apply for registration. However, the amount of data stored would be limited, in an attempt to assuage the concerns that emerged during Tony Blair’s premiership two decades ago about infringement of civil liberties.