'Battle for soul of the country' will be won by raising living standards, not digital ID

The Prime Minister pledged a fightback against Reform UK and the “poisonous belief” that a “violent struggle” for the nation is coming.

As part of his attempts to combat Reform, he announced you will need digital ID to work in the UK by 2029.

The PM hopes this will deter people from coming to the UK illegally by curbing their ability to earn money.

With Nigel Farage’s party leading in the polls, Sir Keir is desperate for wins when it comes to immigration.

But it is only by improving living standards that Labour will stay in government after the next election.

Why is the UK Government bringing in digital ID?

Sir Keir admitted that the reason behind digital ID is to stop people coming to the UK illegally.

He said: “For too many years, it’s been too easy for people to come here, slip into the shadow economy and remain here illegally, because frankly, we’ve been squeamish about saying things which are clearly true.

“It’s not just that it is not compassionate, left-wing politics to rely on labour that exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages.

“But the simple fact that every nation needs to have control over its borders. We do need to know who is in our country.”

He added that not having a fair immigration system “undermines people’s faith that we are on their side and their belief that the state can and will work for them.”

Desperate for wins on migration

A large part of the reason for Labour’s dwindling fortunes in the polls has been of their own making.

The Winter Fuel Payment debacle was hugely damaging, the PM and other government ministers taking freebies was not a good look and the last month has had the disasters of Angela Rayner’s resignation and Peter Mandelson’s sacking.

These have undoubtedly harmed Labour’s popularity.

But a huge issue for voters is immigration - and Labour is desperate to make progress on the issue.

Tens of thousands of people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, and legal migration is at record levels.

Radically reducing the number of small boat arrivals would be significant in terms of optics - as would a decrease in illegal immigration.

The PM hopes that digital ID will make him look tougher on immigration and will deter people from coming here to work illegally.

‘A battle for the soul of the country’

The PM was in a fighting mood on Friday morning as he said Britain faces a “battle for the soul of the country”.

He condemned the scenes at the Unite the Kingdom rally organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson earlier this month.

He said: “The UK (is) now at a crossroads, we have got a right-wing proposition that we’ve not had in this country before.

“That march that we had here two weeks ago in London, in Whitehall – that sent shivers through the spines of many of our communities well away from London, not just those in the immediate vicinity.

“So there’s a battle for the soul of this country now as to what sort of country do we want to be.

“Because that toxic divide, that decline with Reform is built on a sense of grievance, grievance politics, identifying something real for sure, but relying on the problem existing in order for their politics to persist.”

Living standards

Sir Keir is right that the battle is between Labour and Reform at the next election.

At the moment, Reform is ahead in the polls - although we are years away from another Westminster vote.

The PM has been keen not to cede ground to Reform on immigration, but this will not be the defining thing which decides who makes up the next government.

The main thing that will be in voters minds is whether they feel better off than they did when Labour came to office.

The last few years have been particularly rough for the British public.

Rents, mortgages, food and energy have all increased drastically.

And wages haven’t increased at the same rate.

It is understandable that people are unhappy about this.

Their quality of life has decreased through no fault of their own.

If Labour can raise living standards and improve public services, then the issue of immigration will become less important.

Voters will thank the UK Government for bettering their lives, and it would let Labour stay in Government.

Biggest conference since taking Labour leadership

This year’s Labour conference comes at a crucial time for the PM.

He has not had a good run in office so far and is struggling in terms of public opinion.

This is the most important conference he has had since becoming Labour leader in 2020.

The last two have been relatively easy for him as he looked like the next PM in 2023 and celebrated his win last year.

But this time his party looks like it could be heading for opposition again.

He quickly has to show that he has it in him to turn things around - especially because there are crucial Scottish and Welsh Parliament elections next spring.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham also seems to be positioning himself as a leadership contender - which only increases the heat on the PM.

The conference also presents an opportunity, though.

All cameras will be on him as he lays out the way he will move the country forward.

It is important that he focuses on radical solutions which will make middle and working class people better off - rather than pretty flimsy policies on immigration like digital ID.