An online petition advocating against the introduction of mandatory digital ID cards by the UK government has garnered 2 million signatures.
A petition on the UK government website [1] has gained traction following Prime Minister Keir Starmer's announcement of a digital ID card scheme during a speech, reaching 2 million signatures. According to the plans, all UK citizens will receive a digital ID, although participation will not be mandatory. The rollout of the scheme is expected to be completed by 2029. Referred to as [2] the Brit-Card, the initiative will undergo consultation and will necessitate legislation. The card is designed to facilitate the verification of a citizen's right to live and work in the UK, with individuals starting new jobs required to present the card via a smartphone application. Prime Minister Kier Starmer [3] said during his announcement, “I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country. A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering,” said Starmer. “Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.”
However, civil liberties organizations have expressed apprehension regarding the proposed measures. Silkie Carlo [4] the director of Big Brother Watch, cautioned that [5] the system could lead to a domestic mass surveillance infrastructure, “Plans for a mandatory digital ID would make us all reliant on a digital pass to go about our daily lives, turning us into a checkpoint society that is wholly unBritish. Digital IDs would do absolutely nothing to deter small boats but would make Britain less free, creating a domestic mass surveillance infrastructure that will likely sprawl from citizenship to benefits, tax, health, possibly even internet data and more. Incredibly sensitive information about each and every one of us would be hoarded by the state and vulnerable to cyber-attacks,” said Carlo. “Starmer has no mandate to force the population to carry digital IDs and millions of us will simply not do it. The cost to the public purse will likely run into the billions, much like Blair’s failed scheme, but the cost to our freedoms would be even more serious. He is making an enormous mistake and should drop the plans sooner rather than later.”
[6] The online petition created by Maxim Sutcliff states, “We think this would be a step towards mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system. We oppose the creation of any national ID system. ID cards were scrapped in 2010, in our view for good reason.” Opposition to the digital ID card scheme from MP's have also intensified, Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, [7] announced that her party will oppose any government efforts to implement mandatory identification cards for law-abiding citizens. Similarly, Nigel Farage, [8] the leader of Reform UK, expressed his criticism of the scheme, labelling it as “an anti-British card.”
In [9] a column for the Daily Express, Farage said, “What about our European neighbours, such as Germany and France, where there are ID cards and strict checks? It has made no difference at all to the immigration crisis there, and nor will it here. The truth is we already have digital IDs to ensure migrants have the right to work here. Any foreign employee needs to apply for a share code on their E-Visa account and pass that code over to their employer to check on a system,” Farage continues, “UK digital ID cards will instead become a means of controlling the population, of telling us what we can do or say, or even tracking where we go and what we spend. During the COVID pandemic, we had to have vaccine ID to travel and to do various things. Did that stop the pandemic spreading? No it did not. All it did was to impose costs and inconvenience on the general population. Why would anybody trust the government to hold massive data banks of information about how we live?”