Oh it's that time of the year again, where they start talking about governmental ID cards for the 57th time.
this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2025
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After much thought I feel ID cards have their place, we kind of have them now as places expect you to have a drivers licence or passport to prove ID or age. My problem with digital is that it isn't necessarily secure and by the time it's been done it'll be significantly over budget.
What about people without smartphones? - they do exist, and this scheme will risk marginalising some of them.
I think the scheme needs careful thought. One ID which the different organisations can scan to get data relevant to their needs only. NHS, tax, proof of age, proof of address, national insurance etc. If the card was sufficiently smart it could hold emergency data, allergies/ health issues, next of kin etc.
I'm comfortably into my second half century. In time I'll give up on passports and driving licences. I'll probably give up on smartphones as well (the screen's too small to see easily already). What then? I won't be able to prove my existence via the accepted means. I worry that the digital destitution will lead to physical destitution and isn't something I look forward to.
Digital isn't a panacea.
A physical ID card backed up with appropriately integrated government services rolling out over time would get my vote, but I'm confident it won't happen.
It's almost as if the people making these decisions have never heard of compromised devices. Either that, or they're happy to have someone steal all your data and don't care.
My worry about this idea is that it would be a requirement for you to have the ID on you at all times. I hate the thought that you basically have to have your id on you wherever you go just in case the police stop you. I know realistically you're likely to have your phone on you anyway but still.
If it's also a requirement, would the government have a scheme to help people buy a phone if they can't afford one?
And a scheme to charge the phone, and a scheme to replace your phone if you drop it, and a scheme to criminalise you if you forget your phone at your mates or down the pub.
This scheme is an authoritarian over reach into day to day life.
You will need an id on you everywhere to prove you're not an illegal immigrant
They keep trying this every few years.
This ain't going to work unless it's sold to the public like Estonia's X-Road:
Complete digitisation of government, using the NHS, passport application, driving, taxes, etc. to reduce cost overheads and speed up government services. It needs to be a properly implemented super app with best industry security practices. I'd even go so far as to make it open source and have UK developers who log contributions to the project get a tax rebate according to hours/lines contributed as a sort of payment.
Plus it would help sell UK digital services abroad by developing and advertising a local talent pool.
Getting the UK public to be on board with just a digital ID isn't going to fly. Why when your driving licence/learners license or passport is already being used as an ID that people carry around, and then you have your NHS number, your national insurance number, and even a gov.uk account.
What the point of adding another one?!
Getting the UK public to be on board with just a digital ID isn't going to fly
They're selling it as a tool to fight illegal immigration, so I suspect it'll go down well with the public.
Which will be met with the response "but I'm not an 'immigrant' why should I have to carry this ID card?!"
'I'm not an immigrant' is their code for "I'm white".
As much as xenophobic cunts fantasise the idea of stricter border controls and US-ICE style raids, they're also the same cunts that complain about long queues at airport security and HATE it when an authority figure questions them or forces them to do something.
That's the problem with the ID card idea, it doesn't solve a problem. Obviously it proves who you are, but there are so many other documents that are already needed that also do that there's no point.
If we got rid of driving licences and just had an ID card that everyone had, and then when you got a licence it just got added as information onto the card, then they would have a point. But that isn't what they're proposing, they're proposing a second card that does the exact same job as the driving licence that I'm already required to carry.
You’re not required to carry your driving license, though. You only need to present it at a police station within 7 days of being stopped if asked.
The way I could see this being useful would be a version of the driving license we already have, but with no entitlements to drive on the back for people who don’t. No other changes.
Yes which is what I'm proposing. But that's not what they're talking about they're talking about a totally separate ID card with no real reason for its existence.
What if your device gets hacked tho
The new “BritCard” would be used to check on an individual’s right to live and work in Britain, with senior No 10 figures examining the proposal, The Times has reported.
The card, stored on a smartphone, would reportedly be linked to government records and could check entitlements to benefits and monitor welfare fraud.
I'm not against what it's trying to achieve, but will it achieve that and isn't there a less expensive or better way to do it?