Would you support mandatory identity cards in the UK?

I don’t understand why people keep going on about phones. The government has no access to my phone.

can the government access your phones in the countries you’re talking about?

”other countries” really isn’t the flex people seem to think it is. Believe it or not, most people don’t fan girl random countries for spurious reasons.

“If you decided not to opt in then you can be inconvenienced by that”

Not only are you incredibly rude and lacking critical thinking but you don’t appear to understand what mandatory means

Nor is carrying an ID card, at least where I live.

And I'd bet 99% of people do carry a phone, many even into their bedrooms.

An ID card is free, at least where I live, you can use it to vote, travel to other countries, to open a bank account, to prove your identity online.

I've had a few stops with the police and they've never asked me for it, honestly I think a lot of Brits imagine the Gestapo are running around Europe demanding people's papers like some bonkers episode of Allo Allo.

Silly idea. For those people who don't have a driving licence or passport, the non-mandatory cards exist and are easy to get. If a need for reliable identity is established, it might be reasonable to mandate that everyone must own at least one of these 3 possible items. However there's no point establishing such an obligation while it's legal to falsify passport & driving licence anyway on demand, so all the ID is worthless until that changes. Under what circumstances do you feel it would be beneficial to mandate a formal ID document @Dbank ? How would it improve things?

Nor is carrying an ID card, at least where I live.

And I'd bet 99% of people do carry a phone, many even into their bedrooms.

An ID card is free, at least where I live, you can use it to vote, travel to other countries, to open a bank account, to prove your identity online.

I've had a few stops with the police and they've never asked me for it, honestly I think a lot of Brits imagine the Gestapo are running around Europe demanding people's papers like some bonkers episode of Allo Allo.

Do you think it would be in any way cheaper or easier to get?

Carrying a phone is not mandatory

Yes. I don't drive so do not have a driving licence. I have not been abroad for years and my passport ran out. It is expensive to renew a passport. It is now difficult to get a new bank account or various other things without official ID. Why should the only official forms of ID mean you have to drive or go abroad?
An ID card would be easier to carry around than a passport. I would like an ID card.

Carrying a phone is not mandatory

Stop being such a childish prat
One card to support processing issues such as voting, bank accounts, working rights, health records, driving data. Obviously made secure. Obviously works well in other countries
Way more efficient with lots of positive uses. Already works well in many countries. Not the catastrophic big deal you are whining about
If you decided not to opt in then you can be inconvenienced by that. Just as you are moaning about re other people.
So melodramatic

We have friends who recently came back from China, and the level of surveillance and repression is really scary to hear about - however it is all run by your phone and nothing to do with any id card.

People tend to forget that they are carrying a surveillance device on them at all times already. A rectangle of plastic with a photo is not on the same league.

We have friends who recently came back from China, and the level of surveillance and repression is really scary to hear about - however it is all run by your phone and nothing to do with any id card.

People tend to forget that they are carrying a surveillance device on them at all times already. A rectangle of plastic with a photo is not on the same league.

I wouldn't support mandatory IDs anywhere, and I'm surprised that any thinking person living in a free country would.

For those of you favoring mandatory IDs, are you aware of how China has been closing in on its citizens?

I wouldn't support mandatory IDs anywhere, and I'm surprised that any thinking person living in a free country would.

For those of you favoring mandatory IDs, are you aware of how China has been closing in on its citizens?

What services do you expect it to provide access to?
I thought it was supposed to be “just” an ID card, and mandatory so one can’t chose to opt out. That is what the thread is about.

Literally amazing that some bootlicker has already made it into a card that can be used to restrict services to human beings. This is exactly why it’s such a terrible idea.

British resistance to national IDs has always amused me. Most other European countries have them; they're hardly any more "authoritarian" than the UK. They're simply a very handy single doc you use to interact with public bodies. It's fascinating that in one of the countries with most CCTV you think it's an ID card that will mean you'll be "state surveilled"

But I have a german ID and also agree it's a non issue.I don't have to have it all the time ob my person.I just use it to access all the things you use your passport for but it's easy to use in my purse.
I don't really understand the upset.My mother has a french one and finds it much easier than the great big british passport.

@PractisingMyTelekenipsis what ID did they use please?

Absolute nonsense, as evidenced by several replies on this thread already, including this one.
For clarity I am an upstanding citizen with nothing to hide, no criminal record and even a clean driving license and I object massively to the introduction of mandatory identity cards, especially if it were also mandatory to carry them at all times.
(And frankly as a system of control it makes little sense to introduce them without making carrying them compulsory.)
For example, you'd risk a charge (and possible criminal record) if you didn't have one on you when dropping the kids off at school, meeting a friend at a local pub or cafe, popping to the corner shop for teabags and milk, going to the library or to work, and so on.
Identity cards became very unpopular in this country in the 1950s - introduced during WW2, but left in place for several years afterwards. It came to a head when someone was stopped in their neighbourhood by a local copper - who actually knew the person - and the PC demanded he produce his ID card. The person refused, it ended up in court, the charge was considered unreasonable, the government lost the case and the whole system fell apart. It was a big moment.
It could happen again, some officious individual demands to see your papers without any reason and it gets in news, especially if it gets filmed...

See my comments above about how I can't get a provisional drivers license because I have no photo ID (ie a passport) required to get one.