A petition opposing the Government's planned digital ID cards has surpassed 1.5 million signatures. The petition gained more than 6,800 signatures in just one hour on Saturday morning, reaching over 1,564,000 entries.
Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) announced on Friday that the Government would introduce a mandatory new ID system by 2029 for people working in the UK. The digital identification would be part of efforts to tackle illegal immigration.
The petition calls on the Government to commit against introducing digital ID cards. It argues: "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."
Political opposition mounts
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has strongly criticised the planned scheme, branding it "an anti-British card". Writing in the Daily Express, he said: "The Labour Government's plan to impose digital ID cards on all adults will do nothing to combat illegal immigration. But it will give the state more power to control the British people."
Petitions on the UK Government website that receive more than 100,000 signatures will be considered for parliamentary debate. The current petition has exceeded this threshold by a significant margin.
Wider applications envisioned
Ministers initially said the ID would only serve as proof of someone's right to work in the UK. However, Darren Jones, who is spearheading the policy as chief secretary to the Prime Minister, suggested much broader future applications.
Speaking at the Global Progress Action summit in London, Jones said: "If we get this digital ID system working and the public being with us, that will be the bedrock of the modern state and will allow for really quite exciting public service reform in the future."
Implementation details
Sir Keir told the same conference that digital ID would help convince voters the immigration system was "fair". He said: "Decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them."
People will not be required to carry the digital ID, which will be stored on smartphones. Citizens will also not be asked to produce it routinely.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
