Every adult in Britain will require a digital ID under plans to tackle illegal immigration.
The plans would require anyone starting a new job or renting a home to show the card on a smartphone app, which would then be checked against a central database of those entitled to work and live here. At the moment, workers have to show at least one form of physical ID in the form of documents - but there are concerns within government that these can be faked.
Digital ID cards are opposed by civil liberties groups, who have expressed concerns around privacy.
Ministers in favour of the scheme hope that if the first stage of the rollout were to go well, digital ID could subsequently be extended for use in other contexts
So it seems that it might become mandatory to have some phone app. I wouldnât be surprised if it is only working on iOS and (fully googled) Android, thereby making a Google or Apple account mandatory to UK residents.
Iâm sure it will just be used for the stated reason to of preventing illegal immigration, which everyone knows is something Labour really cares deeply about, and wonât one day be used to track your movements or as some kind of online ID to track your browsing and which social media accounts belong to you.
Iâm not even opposed to a mandatory ID card for those people who donât have any other kind of official ID (e.g. driving license or passport), but why does it have to be digital?
The practicalities of the scheme will be subject to a consultation, which will also look at how to make it work for those without a smartphone or passport.
I suspect this means that it will be digital first. But with a card/passport based option available.
Previous schemes have always fallen through in the UK as theyâre surprisingly unpopular. Linking it to the current debate around immigration might make it easier. But itâs still a tough sell and will get bogged down by political in-fighting and bureaucracy.
I donât see how it will be legal for the government to mandate everyone having a smartphone. If would impede on your personal freedom to not have one if you donât want to use a smartphone.
What are these people even thinking? The more I read and learn, the more I seem to not understand the way the world words, ironically. Curse of knowledge seems real.
I think they look to the polls what electorate care about.
Electorate often want to be taken care of, rather than have freedom. So, labor party of UK take care of them. âProtect the childrenâ, provide safety, tackle immigration in this case etc.
Honestly if there is one thing Labour is good at, it would be focusing on the correct issues at play here.
These surveillance measures, at least from my experience talking to locals, just piss off young people more. So much political capitol is spent developing Orwellian solutions to things that nobody really cares aboutâŚinstead of bringing down the cost of living.
No reform voter would switch to labour because they have mandatory digital id
central bank digital curencies (CBDC) (that is centrally controlled people accounts)
all kinds of surveillance
AI
Strengthens the state apparatus and weakens individual agency.
A nice video I seen today about this not so nice future (made with AI):
Maybe those things will not pass (at least in EU). At least EU does not pass legislation as quickly as others can.
But some people have different ideas, lijke where is group of people who actively want EU federalization (which actually means more centralization). CBDCs, ProtectEU program etc. are other centralization forms centralizing decision making.
I love EU it is so decentralized, but some want to make it worse.
Letâs fight for decentralization of all forms to keep the freedom.
I think your intelligence focus is wrong focus. Look a different way:
There are a lot of problems everywhere. Who has to fix those problems?
Some think that strong leader has to fix it (on the right).
Others think the strong state has to fix it (on the left, I am simplifying).
And very capable digital rights and open source community (I think) thinks that people themselves can fix it (not everyone thinks that way).
If we would convince people still have agency and can fix things, they would not support the state or leader for getting ever more control over us and fix things for us.
I would think, that problem that people donât believe they can change things, so they ask the government to do so.
Why they donât believe?
Can be very busy
Can be not interested
Can feel incapable (like things are super complex)
I see what youâre saying with your whole comment but this is a massive if. Thatâs literally why privacy and security advocates exist - to spread awareness and educate the masses. Not an easy task and ever changing at the same time.
And there in lies what I consider monumental idiocy. Now, I donât mean governments canât do good things or never solve any problems. But they work for their donors, not for the masses at large. Governments also primarily exist to take care of its national interests, not its citizens necessarily. And knowing all that we know about our modern history when it comes to governance of different peoples in different times in said modern history, itâs indeed foolish to assume the government truly has the right political will to do whatâs necessary to improve as many lives as possible with each decision (which in and of itself is not always the best way to go but thatâs another discussion).
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But I do agree with what youâre saying for the most part.
This is completely the case in US, but not the case in EU (I look to my country as example, but systems in EU countries are often very similar (because countries compete in various ratings and so copy good ideas from each other)).
Political parties are financed with all kinds of other mechanisms (3-4 different transparent sources, and corporate funding maybe is completely illegal or tiny). But general lobbying is legal, so politicians still work for special interests who have most access to them.
If you are British or live in the UK, I highly recommend that you follow and amplify the work of Big Brother Watch. They are a non-profit UK organization that fights for privacy, and have been at the forefront of the National/Digital ID issue.
I urge and implore you to also download and read their very well researched report,Check Point Britain.
If the UK can reject digital IDs, thereâs a possible ray of hope for the rest of the world.
We could also look for conspiracy, as there seems to be plenty of content for that:
This clip I just encountered on reddit from conversation between Tony Blair and Larry Ellison talking about total surveillance with AI as a new form of governance, clips taken from âworld governments summit 2025â. I seen more things like this from other big tech leaders before.
I duckduckgo them, I get:
Tony Blair is from Labor party.
Basically, most powerful want more power.
Brussels is not much better, as most organizations there are funded by big tech:
Theyâre not exactly great sources. Triggernometry just regurgitate the latest right wing talking points and Daniel Shensmith is an ambulance chasing barrister.
