Digital ID cards

[Hertsscot]

I see Labour have revived this. Good idea or shades of 1984?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g54g6vgpdo

Edited September 25, 2025 by Hertsscot

[Ally Bongo]

1984

[hampden_loon2878]

Another conspiracy will become a reality,, after the covid nonsense where u needed your your covid passport to travel, I would never trust the government again with this kind of thing.. an absolute NO from me 

[AlfieMoon]

This will backfire massively for Labour. 

It’s basically smoke and mirrors from them - trying to make it seem like they’re trying to get tough on illegal immigration workers, but the reality is that this is just another way to pay a massive contract to their mates in the private sector who will consult and deliver (if it gets that far) the digital solution.  

The public won’t like it and there’s not much to gain so this seems like another gaffe from Labour. It’s similar to the mistakes made by the SNP in recent years, getting involved in contentious policy debates when your backs are already to the wall. 

Personally, I’ve never been bothered about suggestions to have ID cards. Much of Europe does and that’s always made me relaxed about it. The wider UK don’t tend to be as chilled about it though.  

[Clyde1998]

There was similar support to an ID card in the early 2000s, following 9/11 and the increases in international terrorism. That support collapsed as soon as people understood the realities of such a scheme: biometric data; national database; cost; potential uses for such a card and database scheme; fines; etc. Fairly certain this was opt-in too by the time it was actually passed into law due to the increases in opposition to it.

The argument for ID cards is primarily to tackle illegal migration, which is something folk on the right want. Those people on the right were typically the very same people who complained about 'Covid passports' and will no doubt complain when all the terms of an ID card applies to them as well.

Edited September 25, 2025 by Clyde1998

[Ally Bongo]

Will be good to see Starmer whip the Labour MPs into voting for it 

Every other party will vote against 

Was it in their manifesto ? If not it's shocking 

Edit - as expected it fucking wasn't 

Who is pulling the strings ?

Edited September 25, 2025 by Ally Bongo

[scotlad]

It seems even less necessary than it was twenty years ago, considering how much ID most of us have anyway. 

Suggesting it might prevent people from working illegally is a bit of a red herring too; the authorities could enforce that with powers they already have but either choose not to or are unable to due to a lack of manpower.

[DoonTheSlope]

The country is in financial turmoil and teetering on bankruptcy yet they’re rolling out a scheme that will cost billions, maybe even trillions

A conspiracy theorist would say it’s a deflection tactic for the McSweeney donations debacle which when it comes out fully will make Starmers position untenable. You know things are bad when Labour are putting Pat McFadden out in front of the cameras! Anyway by the by it’s been planned for decades from the WEF as part of the Agenda 2030 plan 

Labour already passed legislation for it in 2006 but thankfully the Tories repealed it in 2010

[DoonTheSlope]

1 hour ago, AlfieMoon said:

Personally, I’ve never been bothered about suggestions to have ID cards. Much of Europe does and that’s always made me relaxed about it. The wider UK don’t tend to be as chilled about it though.  

This isn’t an ID card. It’s a digital ID which in time will be linked to bank accounts, healthcare, welfare accessibilities and pretty much anything and everything. It’ll be your business pass, passport, even your ticket to the fitba.
 

We’ll be having climate lockdowns before too long

Take a look at the Chinese model. The Chinese model was mentioned as the blue print for what the WEF want to introduce in ‘west’ 

[DoonTheSlope]

In Vietnam when this was introduced 82million people who didn’t comply had their bank account locked until they submitted

Theres nothing like a wee bit of communism to keep us in line

[scotlad]

 

 

[Hertsscot]

Not sure the idea of a compulsory 'Brit card' is going to go down well in West Belfast, or amongst Nationalists here or in Wales.

[AlfieMoon]

1 hour ago, Hertsscot said:

Not sure the idea of a compulsory 'Brit card' is going to go down well in West Belfast, or amongst Nationalists here or in Wales.

I saw Swinney having a pop at this last night.  I’m not sure whether this phrase has just been adopted by the media, or whether Starmer has used the term but I don’t think even they are stupid enough to market the end product as that. Especially given it’s not intended to be a physical card from what I understand. 
 

I don’t think it’s going to get off the ground anyway. 

[Hertsscot]

It seems like a sop to potential Reform voters, showing that Labour are serious about tackling illegal immigration. However it fails to recognise that a substantial percentage of vocal Reform supporters buy into conspiracy theories and will see a digital ID card as being part of a global elite's master plan to control the world.

[StirlingEgg]

16 hours ago, Clyde1998 said:

Those people on the right were typically the very same people who complained about 'Covid passports' and will no doubt complain when all the terms of an ID card applies to them as well.

Good point. We only want free speech for us and not them. ID cards for them not us! 

[Orraloon]

According to the bbc 

"for students, pensioners or others not seeking work, having a digital ID will be optional."

So that's about half the population off the hook before it even starts.

[Ally Bongo]

 

 

Edited September 26, 2025 by Ally Bongo

[Malcolm]

38 minutes ago, Orraloon said:

According to the bbc 

"for students, pensioners or others not seeking work, having a digital ID will be optional."

So that's about half the population off the hook before it even starts.

what if you are already in work….   Surely it will not be required.

i am of a mind to pack it in when at some point AI induced redundancy comes calling.

from there i might not bother working.  It all seems like too much hassle and the tax regime makes it not worth working

[mccaughey85]

Looks like Swinney is against the id card.

[wanderer]

Labour have been trying to get this off the ground since the 90's..... Blair would propose them every now and again, and later on Cameron hinted at going ahead with the idea and then it went quiet.

I am neither here nor there for them, but my wife still has her Ukrainian one (simply for when her parents die and to make things smoother for settling things when that time comes) and all my European based freinds all talk like "you do not know what you are missing" when they say how much easier they have them.

I think had they been called anything else other than a BritCard the Scottish Government would be more inclined to them (when Independence comes, there will be a Scottish version introduced very soon afterwards regardless if Westminster does go ahead with this proposal or not).

[Orraloon]

1 hour ago, Malcolm said:

what if you are already in work….   Surely it will not be required.

i am of a mind to pack it in when at some point AI induced redundancy comes calling.

from there i might not bother working.  It all seems like too much hassle and the tax regime makes it not worth working

I think you are already AI induced.

[Ally Bongo]

34 minutes ago, wanderer said:

Labour have been trying to get this off the ground since the 90's..... Blair would propose them every now and again, and later on Cameron hinted at going ahead with the idea and then it went quiet.

I am neither here nor there for them, but my wife still has her Ukrainian one (simply for when her parents die and to make things smoother for settling things when that time comes) and all my European based freinds all talk like "you do not know what you are missing" when they say how much easier they have them.

I think had they been called anything else other than a BritCard the Scottish Government would be more inclined to them (when Independence comes, there will be a Scottish version introduced very soon afterwards regardless if Westminster does go ahead with this proposal or not).

Imagine the power of a digital ID in the hands of a govt with which they disagree or one that is even more authoritarian than the Starmer regime.

[Grim Jim]

Over a million against on the petition website.

[scotlad]

I wonder if the sudden introduction of this policy is connected to the super-duper deal the government has done with the US. Possibly some American tech firm or firms stands to make money from having its mitts on our data and/or producing the systems required to manage the scheme.

Alternatively, it could be Starmer getting his excuses in first re immigration: "well, I tried to sort it out by introducing those ID cards you all complained about so sorry folks, I know the problem hasn't gone away but I tried..." 🤷‍♂️

[Hertsscot]

50 minutes ago, scotlad said:

I wonder if the sudden introduction of this policy is connected to the super-duper deal the government has done with the US. Possibly some American tech firm or firms stands to make money from having its mitts on our data and/or producing the systems required to manage the scheme.

Alternatively, it could be Starmer getting his excuses in first re immigration: "well, I tried to sort it out by introducing those ID cards you all complained about so sorry folks, I know the problem hasn't gone away but I tried..." 🤷‍♂️

 Both of those are distinct possibilities.