Digital ID UK (National Identity Card): Petition, Risks and EU Comparisons

Digital ID UK is back on the agenda. The UK government is exploring the national digital ID card project again (BBC). Within hours of the first media reports, hundreds of thousands of signatures were added. The response shows just how unpopular Digital IDs in the UK seem to be.

Talk2EU is an independent platform talking about the UK's relationship with the EU.

Benefits of Digital ID in the UK (National Identity Cards)

Supporters argue that the National Identity Card / Digital ID could bring real benefits:

- Cracking down on illegal work and immigration. A secure ID would make it harder for people to use fake papers to access jobs or housing.

- Cutting fraud with fewer forged documents, fewer identity scams.

- Streamlining public services with one secure login for healthcare, benefits, banking or travel could reduce paperwork and speed things up.

- Catching up internationally with other countries, from Estonia to India, that already use digital ID systems. The EU is rolling out its own European Digital Identity Wallet, and the UK may not want to be left behind.

From this perspective, digital ID looks like a decent tool for the modern world.

Risks of UK Digital Identity Cards and Digital ID Schemes

Some critics see the risks very differently:

- Not again! Blair and Brown’s ID card plans in the 2000s collapsed after huge public opposition and a £5 to 6bn price tag (BBC). In today’s money, that could be double.

- Who pays? The government warns of a “black hole in the public finances” (FT). With taxes rising and services squeezed, critics ask whether billions should go to a new IT system, instead of hospitals and schools.

- Cybersecurity. Civil servants would be responsible for securing highly sensitive data. We are not convinced that the public sector is built to manage a system on that scale.

- Expansion. Systems expand; today it might be jobs and housing, tomorrow it could be healthcare, banking, benefits systems, and even voting.

- Loss of protections. In the EU, digital ID comes with GDPR safeguards and the European Court of Justice. Outside the EU, UK protections are weaker, especially after the UK’s new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.

Trust in Government and Digital ID

This may be less about technology itself and more about trust. Do people trust the government to hold and protect their sensitive personal data?

For many, the answer right now is “no.” Backed up by a sizable petition of many hundreds of thousands of people.

Digital IDs If We Were in the EU?

The UK would have been part of the decision-making process for a shared ID system.

The cost of infrastructure and standards would have been shared across EU member states. Outside the EU, we have to build our own expensive system. For trade, we would also still need to pay to make it compatible with EU versions.

European Union and United Kingdom flags symbolising debates on Digital IDs and post-Brexit policy.

Critics will argue, however, that outside the EU we have the chance to design a better system on our own, without having to compromise with other EU countries.

Digital ID Card Constitutional Aspects

There’s another aspect to this. Many EU states not only have GDPR, but also have constitutions or Bills of Rights that protect their people from government overreach. The UK does not have this.

If everything, pensions, benefits, healthcare, even voting, is eventually tied to a digital ID, what happens if that ID is revoked, corrupted, or stolen? You could lose access to your most basic rights. In extreme cases, it risks creating a group of people excluded from society altogether, by error, security breach, or, in the worst-case scenario, misuse.

Elsewhere in Europe, constitutional courts provide protection. You might argue that if digital ID is introduced, it should come alongside a formal constitution or Bill of Rights, so that people have guaranteed protections, not just the sole promise of good government behaviour. 

What Next for Digital IDs in Britain?

What is confusing is that this was not in Labour’s 2024 manifesto (Labour Manifesto).

Parliament has not yet debated the details. However, if introduced, digital ID would be costly, complex, and very difficult to reverse once implemented.

So the question is simple:

- Are digital IDs sensible and fair for modernisation?

- Or are they another white elephant, and an expensive system of control?

Join the Debate on Digital ID UK

Talk2EU.org is independent. We don’t take sides, we ask questions.

- Sign or read the UK petition against digital ID if you feel strongly either way.

- Contact your MP and tell them what you think.

- Discuss it with people you know. This represents a significant shift in how Britain operates, and it warrants scrutiny.

Whether you support digital IDs or oppose them, it will change the way we live, and once it’s been implemented, we can’t go back.