Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Optional National ID cards - would you get one if they came back?

103 replies

Libertyy · 22/12/2023 11:33

If this was another alternative to the current system we have and you could choose which organisations you would be okay with sharing your information automatically with (and those you didn’t would ask you for ID in line with the current system), would you get one? I hold a national id card for a developing country and I personally don’t mind them - I find my life would be a lot easier just showing an ID card. Would you prefer this system?

OP posts:
kitsuneghost · 22/12/2023 13:14

I would prefer some kind of chip under the skin that you can also link or tickets, cards, emergency contacts to. save taking id or a phone everywhere.

Also means if someone is stopped by police they can identify people quicker meaning resources aren't wasted by liars

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 13:16

@kitsuneghost oh no..... that's just a step to far into dystopia 🤣

LoobyDop · 22/12/2023 13:18

I don’t feel I need one- as a middle aged white woman I almost never have to prove myself. I was very strongly opposed to ID cards when the Blair government tried to introduce them, but I can see sense in the argument that the world has changed, and they’d be an effective and relatively unintrusive way of dealing with illegal immigration.

kitsuneghost · 22/12/2023 13:20

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 13:16

@kitsuneghost oh no..... that's just a step to far into dystopia 🤣

I don't really see much of a difference between a phone in your hand or a chip under your hand. They are doing the same thing.

Nicesalad · 22/12/2023 13:23

OneTC · 22/12/2023 11:54

No. It would be prelude to a mandatory system

Possibly, but many other countries have had voluntary ID cards for a very long time. It's just like having a small passport really.

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 13:24

@kitsuneghost yes but then there will be a huge criminal underworld of chopping off people's hands and blackmailing surgeons to attach them to other people.
Have you never read/watched dystopian stuff 🤔🤣

Nicesalad · 22/12/2023 13:24

Wetweatherandmud · 22/12/2023 12:22

It's only £34 for a provisional driving licence. You don't have to learn to drive or take a test.

But lots of places don't accept a provisional license as ID atm ( local buses for example).

ChevyCamaro · 22/12/2023 13:30

No. I have never felt the need to carry my passport around with me either...why would I be doing this??
I think ID to vote is a disgrace, and would be against any attempt to bring in a national id card. We are constantly under CCTV surveillance, monitored, tracked and data mined as it is. I don't want to live in a UK where officious people feel entitled to demand my ID for random reasons.

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 13:32

@ChevyCamaro it's not about having to carry ID with you at all times - but just having access to some when you need it.

LikeTheMorningDew · 22/12/2023 13:33

Nope.

Libertyy · 22/12/2023 13:34

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 13:32

@ChevyCamaro it's not about having to carry ID with you at all times - but just having access to some when you need it.

Pretty much. You are not required in the UK to carry ID with you all the time, for the system I’m in favour of this wouldn’t change.

OP posts:
CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 22/12/2023 13:37

I wouldn't bother. I don't think I'd need to since I have a driving license.

DH probably would. He can't drive for medical reasons so has to carry his passport around for things like buying alcohol. Obviously this doesn't fit in his wallet, and is inconvenient if lost, so an ID card would be better.

DimplesToadfoot · 22/12/2023 13:41

Yes I'd get one

I've had my driving licence taken from me on health grounds, its likely I'll never get it back.

I don't have a passport, I'm disabled the chance of me going abroad is slim, the chance of me wanting to go abroad even slimmer.

Bills, bank statements etc all are online or by email.

If I badly needed ID atm I'd have to apply for a passport, an ID card would hopefully be cheaper and easier to get

kitsuneghost · 22/12/2023 13:42

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 13:24

@kitsuneghost yes but then there will be a huge criminal underworld of chopping off people's hands and blackmailing surgeons to attach them to other people.
Have you never read/watched dystopian stuff 🤔🤣

😂😂

kitsuneghost · 22/12/2023 13:44

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 13:24

@kitsuneghost yes but then there will be a huge criminal underworld of chopping off people's hands and blackmailing surgeons to attach them to other people.
Have you never read/watched dystopian stuff 🤔🤣

At least they would be able to track the hand and find the culprit

Needmorelego · 22/12/2023 13:55

@kitsuneghost it would be a roaring trade. People could pay extra for different hands. A nice ladies one with good nails and soft skin for those that want to feel fancy or a hard tough one for punching people 🤔

WashItTomorrow · 22/12/2023 14:02

Yes, I’d like a national ID card. But not for sharing information with organisations, though. I don’t have a photo driving licence and nor do I have a passport, so it’s a pain when having to prove ID.

WashItTomorrow · 22/12/2023 14:03

CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 22/12/2023 13:37

I wouldn't bother. I don't think I'd need to since I have a driving license.

DH probably would. He can't drive for medical reasons so has to carry his passport around for things like buying alcohol. Obviously this doesn't fit in his wallet, and is inconvenient if lost, so an ID card would be better.

I have a driving licence but it doesn’t have my photo on, so no good for ID purposes.

Paperbagsaremine · 22/12/2023 14:10

Northern Ireland has free photo Electoral Identity cards, so this seems to be a solved problem...

KimberleyClark · 22/12/2023 14:31

Probably not. In terms of photo ID I already have a passport, a senior Railcard and over 60s bus pass. I think that's quite enough. (Driving licence is not a photo one).

IncompleteSenten · 22/12/2023 14:32

Yes.

TheNoonBell · 22/12/2023 14:33

No. I am not government property.

Libertyy · 22/12/2023 14:37

TheNoonBell · 22/12/2023 14:33

No. I am not government property.

Genuine question, do you not think that also applies to our births being registered and the information we give when getting passports?

OP posts:
TheNoonBell · 22/12/2023 14:59

@Libertyy I can assure you the optional bit would be dropped very quickly. Then the digital currency tied to the ID will be introduced.

Once that framework is in place the government can dictate anything it wants, Carbon tax, rationing, enforced vaccination etc.

More here from the Bank of England:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/the-digital-pound

and here from the UN:
https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals

The digital pound

We are looking at the case for issuing a digital pound. This type of money is known as a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It would not replace cash.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/the-digital-pound

CoffeeCantata · 22/12/2023 15:30

Yes - no problem. Don't most other countries have them?