PopCon Director, Mark Littlewood, explains why compulsory digital ID cards are a solution looking for a problem. "Starmer’s ID scheme is yet another means of empowering the Blob over the citizenry. I’ll work with anyone and everyone to defeat it." 

As I write, I have just heard Sir Keir Starmer outline his latest wizard wheeze to combat illegal immigration.

Having apparently moved on from “smashing the gangs” and reflecting on the feeble “one in, one out” exchange arrangements with France, the new plan is to make digital ID compulsory for every British citizen.

ID cards are a solution looking for a problem. Plans for their introduction are dusted down whenever a major security issue is brought to the fore. Over two decades ago I set up the campaign group NO2ID. We successfully thwarted Labour’s plan to bring in identity cards back then. In the wake of the horrors of 9/11, we were told they were needed to combat Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Today they have suddenly become the means to deal with Britain’s ridiculous and dangerous immigration crisis.

ID cards instinctively appeal to those who credit the bureaucratic state with being something close to omniscient and omnibenevolent. A lack of data is apparently the key reason the authorities aren’t smoothly tackling a given problem.

A moment’s consideration exposes this proposition for the nonsense that it is. We are not failing to deport illegal migrants because state officials are standing in the reception of an asylum hotel but are unable to figure out who is Ahmad, who is Mohammad and who is Kamal.

Neither are employers taking on illegal workers because they are scratching their heads in front of an applicant and musing, “Well, unfortunately we don’t yet have compulsory ID cards in the UK so I guess I will just have to take it on trust that you have the right to work here.”

Of course, I have no problem with being asked to prove my rights to access a particular service or conduct a particular activity. And I don’t have much of a problem with such proof being digitalised. If I wish to claim benefits, I need a national insurance number. The same applies if I want to join a company’s payroll. If I need access to state healthcare, I require an NHS number. If I want to drive a car, I must have a driving licence. If I want to purchase alcohol or cigarettes, I may need to show I’m over 18 (although that hasn’t been a problem for well over thirty years!). If I want to buy anything at all with my debit card, I often need to type in a four-digit number to show I’m good for the funds.

So far, so good. The key thing is that the information I share is discrete. If I go and see my doctor, he doesn’t get to access my tax return. If I rent a car, AVIS doesn’t get to learn whether or where I voted at the last general election. And so on.

There are good reasons to improve a number of the state’s current ID systems (there are about eight million more national insurance numbers than there are adults in the UK, for example!). But none of this requires a massive new government IT project and the biggest database. If you want an example of how shiny new IT projects can go horrifically awry, look no further than the Post Office’s Horizon scandal.

Those of a conservative, freedom-loving disposition should fight the government’s digital ID scheme tooth and nail. The state is entitled to know some information about us, but only what it needs to do its job. This means demanding current systems are updated and made more robust. It doesn’t mean introducing a ludicrous “BritCard” and attaching it to a colossal database.

After initially calling for a national debate and suggesting there were potential upsides to the proposals, Kemi Badenoch has now clarified that the Conservatives will oppose any scheme that is compulsory. Nigel Farage quickly made it clear that he was firmly opposed to the plans (as indeed did Jeremy Corbyn!).

It would helpful if opposition parties made it plain that they would dismantle the project if they were in government and rescind all IT contracts related to it.

Starmer’s ID scheme is yet another means of empowering the Blob over the citizenry. I’ll work with anyone and everyone to defeat it.

Keep the flag of freedom flying!