The U.K.’s right and left-wing parties have reached an uncommon consensus: they oppose British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s latest attempt to curb illegal immigration through mandatory digital ID cards. 

The plan, announced last week and which will be fully rolled out by August 2029, revived a decades-old debate across the U.K. over whether digital IDs will be overly intrusive or even effective in combating illegal migration.

«You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It’s as simple as that,» Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, said in announcing the compulsory plan. 

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But while illegal immigration has become an increasing concern across both sides of the aisle in the U.K., Starmer’s approach has been met with open opposition.

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who left the party in 2024 to stand as an Independent, said he «firmly oppose[s] the government’s plans for compulsory digital ID cards.»

«This is an affront to our civil liberties, and will make the lives of minorities even more difficult and dangerous,» he said. «It is excessive state interference — and must be resisted.»

Corbyn, who this week launched his own political movement called «Your Party» as an alternative to what he called the «control freaks» of Labour, echoed similar criticism once voiced by right-wing leader Nigel Farage, who founded Reform UK in opposition to the Conservatives.

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Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks to striking hotel workers on the picket line outside the Village Hotel on Aug. 22, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Farage, in a post on X, said he was also «firmly opposed» to the mandatory digital ID cards and argued, «It will make no difference to illegal immigration, but it will be used to control and penalize the rest of us.»

«The state should never have this much power,» he added. 

While Starmer’s plan has drawn fire from both the left and right, albeit for very different reasons, polls suggest the public mood is also shifting.

The Independent reported that more than half of Brits backed digital IDs in June, with fewer than 20% opposed.

But that support appears to have drastically shifted, with nearly half of all Brits now saying they oppose the measure, according to the news outlet. 

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks during a press conference in Westminster, United Kingdom on June 10, 2025.  ( Thomas Krych/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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The digital ID card, which can be kept on a smartphone, would include a holder’s name, residency status, date of birth and nationality. British reports said it would initially be used only for employment verification, though its scope could be expanded.

The plan faces resistance: more than 2.4 million Brits have signed a petition on Parliament’s website opposing it, the BBC reported. Any petition with over 100,000 signatures must be considered for debate.

The prime minister’s office could not be immediately reached for comment. 

Rumors have swirled about «Squad» Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political future since she joined Sen. Bernie Sanders’ high-profile «Fighting Oligarchy» tour earlier this year. 

The youngest woman ever elected to Congress has become a leading progressive voice in the Democratic Party, amassing millions of social media followers and sparking speculation about a potential U.S. Senate run or White House bid in 2028. Her rise to the national stage comes as Democrats look for fresh leadership after losing up and down the ballot last year. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff and campaign manager are both alumni of the Sanders campaign. Mike Casca, her chief of staff, was formerly Sanders’ deputy chief of staff and a fixture of Sanders’ political operation, both on the presidential campaign trail and back on Capitol Hill. 

Her campaign manager, Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben, has worked in politics for over a decade. Prior to joining Ocasio-Cortez’s team in 2023, Hidalgo-Wohlleben was the political director of Sanders’ super PAC, Friends of Bernie Sanders, according to his LinkedIn. 

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Hidalgo-Wohlleben also worked on Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign before joining former President Joe Biden’s campaign in Iowa, Hidalgo-Wohlleben’s LinkedIn profile revealed. 

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«AOC is a pretty savvy politician with a strong operation,» Democratic strategist Mike Nellis told Fox News Digital. «No matter what she decides to do, they’re setting her up for the future.»

A Sanders alumnus himself, Nellis cautioned against placing too much weight on what it means for former Sanders staffers to lead Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign. 

«I think that’s just who she knows and who she trusts,» Nellis, a former adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, said, adding that Ocasio-Cortez has a «really good team around her.»

«It’s strategic in the sense that they have a lot of relationships already,» Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff said, while emphasizing that it can be a «mistake to keep the old guard» when you are trying to build something new. 

«I don’t know that somebody is going to inherit the legacy of Bernie Sanders,» Shroff added. 

Axios recently reported that, according to people familiar with Ocasio-Cortez’s political operation, her team is positioning her to run for president or the U.S. Senate in 2028. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a rally in New York City on May 1, 2025.  (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Schumer is up for re-election in 2028. By then, he will have served 47 years in Congress. 

«AOC doesn’t need the Senate,» Republican strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital. «The Senate, at this point, is too small for her. I would expect her to run for president 2028.»

Whether she chooses to run for president or the Senate, Nellis said Ocasio-Cortez has the potential to attract voters who don’t typically engage in the political process, much like the coalition President Donald Trump has built. 

«When you are an unconventional candidate outside the mainstream, outside the establishment, you can get a lot of people who will tune in and engage that maybe otherwise wouldn’t because you’re giving voice to them in a meaningful way,» Nellis said. 

But Shroff said that Ocasio-Cortez isn’t ready for a presidential campaign. 

«She absolutely should not run for president,» Shroff said. «It would be way too soon. I don’t think she’s really achieved enough to justify that.»

«For the Senate, I see that as more realistic, especially in a state like New York, that’s obviously more liberal,» Shroff added, arguing that «some very loyal base Democrats have lost their patience» with Schumer, so his vulnerability could boost Ocasio-Cortez’s chances of securing the Senate seat. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., greeted the crowd together during a «Fighting Oligarchy» tour event at Arizona State University, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Tempe, Arizona.  (Ross D. Franklin)

Shroff said Ocasio-Cortez’s «media profile and personality and charisma» aren’t enough to win the presidency, especially when running against figures like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, long considered to harbor presidential aspirations. 

The New Yorker sparked more campaign buzz this month for participating in an advertisement directly challenging Trump and advocating in favor of California redistricting. 

Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have both endorsed and campaigned this year for New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist. 

If Mamdani wins the mayoral election in November, Shroff said it could be a litmus test for the modern progressive branch of the Democratic Party. 

«It will be challenging for him because I don’t think he can do a lot of the things that he said, and so how soon will that leftist ideology be debunked on a national level? The sooner that happens, the worse it is for AOC,» Shroff said. 

In April, Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X that drove rumors she could be mulling a presidential run as the four-term Democrat from New York City and the progressive leader proclaimed, «We are one.»

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When asked later that month if she was harboring any presidential ambitions, the young Democrat did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations to Fox News Digital. 

«Bernie and AOC, one thing they understand is that Democrats need to be more than just anti-Trump,» Gorman said, before adding, «I certainly disagree with Bernie and AOC’s strategy of how to lead the party and where to take America, but at least they have one. That’s more than just, ‘I hate Trump.’»

The Republican strategist said the Democratic Party’s «establishment is not going to be able to stop a united, far-left wing of the party this time,» Gorman said. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s and Schumer’s campaigns did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Las fuerzas de Rusia y Ucrania han vuelto a intercambiar un total de 370 prisioneros de guerra en un canje que se enmarca en el acuerdo alcanzado por las partes durante las conversaciones que tuvieron lugar el pasado mes de julio en la localidad de Estambul, en Turquía.

Así, cada parte entregará a la contraria 185 prisioneros, según ha informado el Ministerio de Defensa ruso en un comunicado difundido a través de Telegram en el que ha matizado que, además, una veintena de civiles también serán liberados.

Todos ellos se encuentran ya en territorio de Bielorrusia, donde “están recibiendo la asistencia médica y psicológica necesaria de forma previo a su siguiente traslado”, recoge el texto.

“Los prisioneros de guerra y civiles serán enviados posteriormente a Rusia para recibir tratamiento o ser ingresados en centros de rehabilitación en caso de que sea necesario”, ha zanjado.

Ucrania perdió en septiembre a manos de Rusia un 44 % menos de territorio que el mes anterior, según un informe publicado esta semana por la plataforma ucraniana de seguimiento de la guerra DeepState.

El informe de DeepState muestra que Rusia conquistó en septiembre 259 kilómetros cuadrados de nuevo territorio, frente a los 464 tomados en agosto y los 564 con los que se hizo en julio.

Las cifras presentadas por la plataforma confirman la tendencia adelantada días antes por el presidente Volodímir Zelensky, que había informado el lunes de la recuperación en las semanas anteriores por parte de las tropas ucranianas de 174 kilómetros cuadrados que habían sido conquistados por Rusia.

Según explicó Zelensky, Ucrania recuperó ese territorio en los frente de Pokrovsk y Dobropilia, ambos situados en la región oriental de Donetsk.

Esta mejora de la situación para Ucrania de la situación en el frente se produce cuando Kiev espera recibir armamento adicional de EE.UU. que se sume al que ya recibió el mes pasado -en la que había misiles para sistemas Patriot y cohetes para sistemas HIMARS- en el marco del programa de adquisiciones sufragadas por países europeos acordado con la administración del presidente Donald Trump.

En una rueda de prensa celebrada el sábado, Zelensky dijo que su administración está trabajando con la de Trump en la posible firma de un “mega acuerdo” para la compra de más armas sobre las que el presidente ucraniano ya habló con su homólogo estadounidense en la reunión que mantuvieron la semana pasada en Nueva York.

Zelensky también dijo que ambas partes podrían llegar a acuerdos por separado para que EE.UU. transfiera a Ucrania armas de largo alcance.

Según ha declarado el vicepresidente de EE.UU., JD Vance, Washington se plantea por primera vez desde el comienzo de la guerra autorizar el envío a Ucrania de misiles de precisión Tomahawk, que tienen un alcance de 2.500 kilómetros y pondrían a tiro del Ejército ucraniano numerosos objetivos clave situados en territorio ruso.

Mientras la administración de Trump toma una decisión al respecto, Ucrania sigue reuniendo dinero de sus aliados europeos para proceder lo antes posible a las compras que vaya autorizando Washington y prosigue su campaña de ataques contra refinerías y otras instalaciones energéticas de la Federación Rusa.

Según ha explicado Zelensky, Kiev ya ha juntado unos 2.000 millones de dólares de Países Bajos, Dinamarca, Noruega, Suecia, Alemania y Canadá con los que se han pagado los primeros envíos de armas aprobados por Trump.

Ucrania se ha marcado como objetivo movilizar mil millones de dólares adicionales cada mes comenzado por este octubre de países que han mostrado disponibilidad de sumarse al programa como los bálticos, Luxemburgo, Bélgica e Islandia.

(Con información de Europa Press y EFE)