When it comes to proving who you are in the UK, things work a little differently compared to many other countries. While national ID cards are a standard feature of life across much of Europe and beyond, the UK has had a complex and often controversial relationship with the idea.
The UK’s first experience with compulsory ID cards came during World War II. Introduced in 1939 to support rationing, conscription (we’ll come back to this!), and national security, the wartime identity card system continued until 1952. Once the perceived need for them diminished, the scheme was scrapped, in part because of public dislike for the state’s control over daily life.
Later, Tony Blair’s government passed the Identity Cards Act in 2006, built on the National Identity Register. It promised to stop terrorism, fraud, and illegal immigration, aiming to issue biometric ID cards linked to a national database. However, the project was heavily criticised for its cost, (The LSE estimated the cost up to £19 billion, why is it cheaper now? Outsourced to India?) potential for government overreach, and privacy concerns. After a change in government, the scheme was scrapped in 2010, and the data collected was destroyed, or so we were told, who knows for certain?
In the absence of a national ID card, people in the UK rely on a mixture of documents:
- Passports – the most widely accepted form of official photo ID, though many people don’t own one if they don’t travel abroad.
- Driving licences – commonly used to prove both identity and age, but again, not everyone has one.
- PASS cards – accredited proof-of-age cards (like CitizenCard or My ID Card) that are widely recognised, especially for age-restricted purchases.
For everyday activities – opening a bank account, applying for a job, or proving your age in a shop – one of these usually does the job.
Advocates of ID cards argue they could simplify life in the UK. One card could cover everything from proving your right to work to accessing NHS services or voting. Some also see it as a way to strengthen national security and crack down on fraud.
Opponents point to the risks:
- Privacy and data protection – centralised databases raise fears of surveillance and misuse.
- Cost – previous estimates suggested billions of pounds would be needed to implement and maintain a scheme.
- Civil liberties – for many, being required to carry ID feels fundamentally at odds with British traditions of personal freedom.
Today, Keir Starmer’s Labour Government has announced the introduction of a mandatory national ID card system. It is not the same thing as carrying ID cards that people have in the EU. It is a wholly different concept.
It means you have a number. An identifier. Your ability to do anything can be turned off by the government at any time. it WILL get cyber hacked, there will be outages. All systems of power have a draw to tyranny. If that system is one of governance and you allow it the means to control beyond the measures that allow freedoms, then you are placing a system in place that will inevitably be abused.
Look at China. A centralised ID that the government can switch on or off depending on your behaviour hands vast amounts of power and data over to governments. They don’t like the post you’ve just made; your bank account has now been restricted. There’s no logical argument against it – there are lots of moral and ideological ones
This is exactly what China does to its citizens.
This isn’t a left-wing issue. It isn’t a right-wing issue. It’s a warning that applies to everyone, no matter how you vote. And history proves the risk isn’t abstract.
In 2007, HMRC lost two discs containing the full personal details of 25 million people – half the population at the time. National Insurance numbers, dates of birth, even bank details, gone in one mistake. If all our lives are tied to a single ID system, one breach or one failure means tens of millions of people.
We’re told Digital ID is about illegal immigration. But asylum seekers already get biometric cards. Visa holders already have eVisas, and landlords and employers must already use the Home Office’s online service to check right to work or rent. Those systems exist. And when they fail – as they did in 2024 – people legally in the UK were locked out of flights, jobs, and homes.
So, who really pays the price? Not ‘illegal workers.’ It’s the ordinary citizen whose data is wrongly entered, whose ID doesn’t sync, or whose number is cloned. Once your life is bound to a single database, one error means you don’t get paid, you can’t board a flight, or you lose your home.
If you’re elderly, a digital-only system can lock you out of services. If you’re a migrant, one outage can strand you at an airport. We spend hundreds of billions a year on cyber security and yet the volume of breaches is growing exponentially. The threat is growing faster than the billions spent. Look at Jaguar Land Rover and the airports in recent weeks. Now imagine that at national scale on an ID system tied to everything you need to live your daily life. Hackers could access thousands of ID cards and sell that information, compromising anyone’s right to work without their knowledge for years. And when you get denied NHS treatment because you bought too much alcohol or cigarettes? Or when your payment gets rejected at the supermarket because you’ve reached your carbon limits? Or when your bank refuses you cash because you’ve posted anti-government sentiments online? Why should I be legally required to have a mobile phone on me simply to identify myself? And as for the legalities, if people are not required to show this ID, what is the point? And if you don’t have a mandatory Digital ID what are the penalties, and how can they be proven if you don’t have to show the ID? It doesn’t exactly sound as if it’s been thought through, does it?
What if your data is simply erased, how will you prove your identity? The EU countries have physical electronic ID cards with chips. The UK wants to introduce a digital form only. Sounds extreme but anything is possible in these strange times, I mean, look at Trump.
One of the more worrying aspects is that it is a government IT scheme, which means it will be a disaster, will not be delivered on time if at all, but will cost us billions more than predicted. with estimates ranging from £1bn for setup and £100m annually to over £4.6bn for a full system, and doubts about delivery on budget without delays. Remember the debacle of ‘track and trace’? Look at what happened to the postmasters. Software error, cover ups, people criminalised, lives ruined. Where will we get the funds to pay for this as we’re already £40 billion in debt? More Taxes? Would it be less expensive to simply have a number tattooed on our arms? Why not just finish the job, and get to where we’re heading? Everyone should be chipped like cats and dogs. At least then stealing your identity (on OUR side of the fence) will be a little more difficult. Until Temu start selling do-it-yourself scanning and programming kits of course.
The way it is being rushed in hints at other reasons for this. Given Russia’s continual inability to live in the present and not try to regain lost empires, is war on the agenda? One reason given for National ID cards in 1939 was to ensure all able-bodied men (and women) of fighting age were listed and traceable. Given the mobility of people these days, being able to move around the country (and abroad), in order to conscript them for battle fodder, they will need to be traced, and, because your information from the NHS, political beliefs, etc. will all be available to the ‘recruiters’ how much easier will their job be?
This will be a fundamental change to how we live it should only be brought in after a referendum where the people have their say on it. It doesn’t matter if you’re Labour, Plaid Cymru, Conservative, Reform, or Green – the risk is the same. A universal Digital ID and automated tax would not stop fraud or immigration abuse, if passports and NI numbers don’t stop illegal workers, how will a Digital ID? However, it would expose every single citizen to systemic risk. And once it’s in place, you don’t get to opt out.
I’ve got a Birth Certificate, Driving Licence, Bus Pass (yes, I’m old!), a Passport, and an NI number. Why do I need more? Digital ID is only about control of the masses.