National ID Cards

The police/ government can find out where everyone is at any time if they want to through mobile phone use so any concerns about “freedom” are long gone.

The only people who did well out of the last attempt were the management consultants pocketing millions for failure. Same as the attempt at creating a central NHS computer system.

I have no particular objection to an ID card, but absolutely no confidence in any government to actually implement it.

And yet, much poorer countries, like the ex communist block seem to afford it. Funny that.

I think they are useful. So many lose their passports when used for ID purposes.
i care for someone who has no passport and cannot have a Driver’s licence due to disability. Having one would be a great help for him.

I’m not doi mg anything remotely shady in my life so would have no issue with it? Would you have to pay for them though? I already pay £££ for my passport and driving licence!

Honestly - if the UK decided it should know exactly who is in the country, their status and where they live, they would save the cost of implementing ID cards many times over. The council / police do spot checks on business premises here also and often find people with no ID / underage etc.

I don’t think the public would be charged. If it helps with all kinds of admin and security, and possibly even deters people coming here illegally, it should be done.

Thanks for highlighting all the positives and practical uses. I think its a no brainer!

Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and Google already know soooo much about you. If anyone was going to be controlling, I'd worry more about them. ID cards are the quickest and most cost effective way to reduce crime and illegal immigration. How will the government use them to control you?

Nah! It will be too expensive. The admin costs alone plus the cost of the cards. If it’s mandatory they have to justify costs and make it affordable to everyone

And you don't need all the databases to be linked to each other. You need one central population database that the others can access. My GP has no access to my financial information. And my ID card has a biometric chip and a PIN code.

I'm totally in favour of biometric ID cards - my passport expired a couple of years ago and I don't know if I'll renew, and I don't have a drivers license.

I’m from a country (Canada) where we had health cards. Why, well Honestly to prevent abuse of our universal health care system by Americans. Every time you go to a doctor or hospital the first thing you are asked is ‘health card please’ then it’s all free.

No one is bothered, no one cares and we just do it. It really isn’t a big deal to have or carry these cards.

One of the strongest Canadian values is fairness and it feels fair to be asked to prove that you are eligible for our free health care system. It also doesn’t feel fair that if people aren’t eligible that they can have that care for free (they would have to pay). It works.

I had bank account elayed because utility company misspelled my name. 3 times I had to correct them!!!

Also DH had his residency card delivered to god knows who because ven THAT important letter just didn't require any ID.... It was a pita and costed us money

A few general observations and suggestions...

Most European Countries have an ID card and/or population register

This is because they have land borders which are easy to cross, by contrast we have relied on port control. How good this was is debatable and certainly it doesnt seem to work well now.

Then there is the Spike Milligan case, born to Irish parents at the time when the UK was under British rule and who was in the British Army in WW2 but told when he applied for a passport 'No'

We also have all the issues around 'Windrush' and of course successive Governments have imposed increasingly complex rules on landlords and employers requiring them to check the bona fides of their employees and tenants as well as a requirement to provide ID to vote.

Given that about 75% of the UK population possess a passport I would suggest that rolling out an ID card over - say a 10 year period would not be particularly difficult. It could also be issued when people claim Universal Credit because lots of ID Documentation is required for that.

As part of the roll out I propose that those legally in the UK shoud have the option of applying for UK Citizenship at no cost

I would also suggest that people born before a certain date would not be required to have an ID card but would be issued with one of they applied for a passport.

carrying a passport for ID isn't always a complete picture though (hence, i guess, the utility bill bollocks). They don't have your address on them. In some car hire places it can be an issue if you don't have a biometric ID that includes your address.

I don't notice freedom of speech being curtailed in Sweden, NL, Germany, France or Spain. (well, not due to ID cards being present, anyway)

Lots of countries have ID cards, i have no issue with it and it would make a lot of people more comfortable for example you could ask to see a tradesman or cleaners ID card before letting them in your home and be sure you're dealing with who you think/paying a bank account with same name etc. I once had a cleaning lady trying to have me pay into her mother & daughters bank accounts basically to try and avoid tax!! Obviously i refused and got a new on.

i simply cannot fathom why the UK is so against ID cards. Some of the best countries in Europe have them without problem.

A friend of mine moved to UK and was gobsmacked to have to produce things like Utility Bills to open a bank account. That is utter batshittery.

I agree. I can't drive for medical reasons and would rather not carry my passport with me for ID

Also, and this is kind of an aside, although the OP is a little ranty so it's unclear exactly what you are asking, but the arrival of immigrants isn't necessarily the problem - that happens everywhere. A big part of the issue that that UK is experiencing is its failure to (1) track immigration (including when people leave the country which as far as I understand is NOT tracked, so at least some of illegal immigration is people arriving legitimately but never leaving again ) and (2) having a set up where it's fairly easy to be "illegitimate" and (3) failing to process them in good time. If you want to limit the negative impact of illegal immigration, that's where to start. The whole "people on small boats" is just high profile distraction.

This.

I think it would solve many problems in the UK. No one would be able to moan about people getting things they are not entitled to as they either have an ID card that allows them to have the stuff, or not. Whether it's medical treatment, benefits, etc. much easier to keep track of a person, for sure, but only in the way that is good for the recipient and good for tax payers who don't want to pay out for people who are not entitled to receive.

Having lived in a few places that have them, I only see upsides and truly don't understand why the UK just doesn't introduce them asap. Climate migration will only increase in coming years so best they get it sorted now.

My home country has something similar - it's not a physical card but a national ID number which is used for pretty much everything, from banks to accessing medical care to using the library. It's very convenient if you have one and I can't see how it's invasive? Probably quite tricky being an illegal immigrant though.

I don't see how it relates to free speech though?

I think it would be a very good idea to introduce them. Many other countries have them and I don't see the problem with having them.

Nail on the head. If we're going to do it, we need to do it properly. The technology is there for biometrics and it's now tried and tested, so that's the future.

Haven’t seen mine since about 1994