Labour-held seats lead opposition to mandatory digital identification system as Prime Minister faces backlash from civil liberties groups and political rivals
A petition demanding the Government abandon plans for mandatory digital ID cards has rocketed past one million signatures within hours of Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement that all British adults will need the identification to work in the UK. The extraordinary surge in opposition saw tens of thousands of people signing every hour through the night, making it one of the fastest-growing petitions in UK parliamentary history.
The petition, which calls on the Government not to introduce what critics are calling a “Brit Card,” soared from under 100,000 signatures to over one million in less than 24 hours following the Prime Minister’s speech at the Global Progress Action Summit in London on Friday. The milestone guarantees a parliamentary debate on the issue, far exceeding the 100,000 signature threshold required for consideration.
“You will not be able to work in the UK if you don’t have a digital ID, it’s as simple as that,” Starmer told attendees at the summit, where he appeared alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Labour Heartlands Lead Opposition
The geographical breakdown of signatures reveals significant resistance in Labour’s own strongholds. Houghton & Sunderland South, home to prospective Labour deputy leader Bridget Phillipson, recorded the highest number of sign-ups by Friday afternoon.
Hartlepool, won by Labour’s Jonathan Brash in the 2024 General Election, registered more than 2,500 signatures. Other Labour-held constituencies showing strong opposition include Alyn & Deeside, Bolsover, Easington, Jarrow & Gateshead East, and Whitehaven & Workington.
More than 2,400 residents in Nigel Farage’s Clacton constituency have signed the petition, whilst even the Prime Minister faces local resistance with over 860 signatures from his own Holborn & St Pancras seat.
The petition, started by Maxim Sutcliff in June but gaining explosive momentum only now, fetched 11,000 signatures in just five minutes after Starmer’s announcement. It 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.”
Tony Blair’s Fingerprints
The timing of Starmer’s announcement has raised eyebrows, coming just two days after the Tony Blair Institute published a report advocating for digital ID cards. Blair’s think tank claims 62% of Britons support digital ID, with only 19% opposed, based on polling conducted earlier this year.
“Digital ID is the disruption the UK desperately needs,” Blair wrote in September, arguing the system would bring wide-ranging benefits including better targeting of public services and reduced administrative burdens.
Critics have noted that the Larry Ellison Foundation, linked to Oracle’s founder and chairman, is among the Tony Blair Institute’s donors – Oracle being precisely the type of technology company that might benefit from implementing such a comprehensive database system.
Immigration Control Justification
The Government frames the digital ID scheme as crucial for tackling illegal immigration and preventing migrants from working in the black economy. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has voiced strong support, confirming she has “always been in favour” of the scheme.
“In fact, I supported the last Labour Government’s introduction of ID cards,” Mahmood stated. “The first bill I spoke on in Parliament was the ID cards bill, which the then Conservative-Lib Dem coalition scrapped.”
The digital ID would contain a person’s name, date of birth, photograph, nationality and residency status. Whilst individuals won’t be required to carry the ID constantly, it will be mandatory for proving the right to work, with employers required to check against a central database.
Cross-Party Condemnation
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage launched a scathing attack on the proposals, warning: “All that digital ID will be is a means of controlling the population, of telling us what we can and can’t do, of fining the innocent.
Farage referenced pandemic vaccine passports, arguing: “Did that stop the Covid pandemic spreading? Did it hell. All it did was put cost and inconvenience on everyone else.”
He also raised concerns about data security: “I worry about massive data banks being held by the Government being hacked by foreign governments, by private companies, by criminals. I do not see a single benefit to the Government having digital ID, other than them controlling what we do, what we spend and where we go.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch stopped short of outright opposition but warned the announcement was “a desperate gimmick that will do nothing to stop the boats.
“There are arguments for and against digital ID, but mandating its use would be a very serious step that requires a proper national debate,” Badenoch stated. “Instead, this is a throwaway conference announcement designed to distract attention from Andy Burnham’s leadership manoeuverings and the crisis in Downing Street.”
The Liberal Democrats have also declared their opposition to the scheme.
Civil Liberties Concerns Mount
Eight civil liberties groups, including Big Brother Watch, Liberty and Connected by Data, wrote to Starmer warning that mandatory digital ID is “highly unlikely to achieve the Government’s objective of tackling unauthorised immigration.
Big Brother Watch’s interim director Rebecca Vincent warned the scheme would be “uniquely harmful to privacy, equality and civil liberties.”
The groups argue the proposals “fundamentally misunderstand the ‘pull factors’ that drive migration to the UK and would do very little to tackle criminal people-smuggling gangs or employers and landlords who operate ‘off the books’.”
Liberty highlighted that government research ahead of introducing voter ID requirements found more than 2 million UK voters lacked appropriate photo identification. They warn this would be compounded by digital exclusion, with 2.1 million Britons currently offline according to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee.
Public Opinion Divided
Despite the petition’s explosive growth, polling suggests the British public may be more divided than the outcry suggests. More in Common polling from November found 53% of Britons support digital ID cards, with just 19% against.
Support crosses party lines, with more than two-thirds of 2024 Tory voters backing the proposal, alongside 60% of Labour supporters and 59% of Reform UK backers – despite their leader’s opposition.
However, when asked specifically about digital rather than physical ID cards, opinion splits more evenly, with 38% supporting and 32% opposing, according to Ipsos polling. Key concerns include data being used without permission (32%), data being sold to private companies (31%) and security breaches (28%).
Historical Echoes
The controversy echoes the fate of Tony Blair’s Identity Cards Act, which collapsed after nearly a decade of debate and £250 million in costs before being scrapped by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in 2010.
Liberty, which led the NO2ID Coalition against Blair’s scheme, notes that technological advancements mean digital ID systems now pose “an even greater risk to privacy than they did when last proposed in the 2000s.”
The Institute for Government cautions that whilst advocates claim the system would reduce illegal working, “employers are already supposed to check right-to-work status of anyone they employ and it is not clear how far this would act as an additional barrier to illegal work.”
What Happens Next
The scheme will require consultation and legislation before implementation, giving opponents time to mobilise further resistance. With the petition far exceeding the parliamentary debate threshold, MPs will be forced to address public concerns.
Mark Baker, who led the successful campaign against 20mph speed limits in Wales, declared: “This is now the fastest growing petition in UK history, and rightly so. Our rights should not be whittled away in this disrespectful manner.”
As signatures continue to pour in and political opposition crystallises across party lines, the Government faces mounting pressure to reconsider or significantly modify the digital ID proposals. The controversy threatens to overshadow other government initiatives and has handed ammunition to those questioning Starmer’s leadership, particularly as speculation grows about Andy Burnham’s ambitions.
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