Identity Cards: yes or no?

[Papyrophile]

Gerard Darminin, French Home Secretary equivalent, has said that the UK is making itself a migrant target because we have no national officially issued ID card proving entitlement.

I, a very ordinary citizen, already have an NHS number issued at birth, and a National Insurance number sent to me at 16, neither of which has changed. I also have a passport number, due for renewal next year, a driver's license and a Government Gateway number for my occasional exchanges with officialdom.

Why would anyone who has nothing to hide from the authorities prefer not to hold an official proof of identity?

Why would anyone who has nothing to hide from the authorities prefer not to hold an official proof of identity?

I already have plenty of means of identifying myself to anyone who genuinely needs to know, and "nothing to hide" arguments are ridiculous, because the implication is objecting to them suggests you do indeed have something to hide, fundamentally at odds with the notion of presumed innocence.

I have no problem with having an ID card. I had one when I lived my other country, it was convenient. You could also do cool things like loading your rail pass onto it.

Apart from the odd speeding ticket, I have absolutely nothing to hide.

It’s true that it makes it very difficult to keep tabs on people who shouldn’t be here, like rejected asylum seekers for example. They just melt into the
informal economy.
also, if voter ID is going to be required from now on then it would be so much easier and fairer if there were a standard form of ID issued to everyone.

I wouldn't mind ID cards. The driving licence seems to function as a de facto ID card, but not everyone drives (or goes abroad).

Yes, I think that they're a good idea

I would rather have an id card as a driving licence is no good if you can't have one, for example medical reasons and a passport is expensive if you don't go abroad

Just make them voluntary for now. Those of us that don't mind can have an easy way of identifying themselves with easily accessible NI Number, Passport number, NHS number, driving licence number etc. Then the people that don't want them yet can see how they work and might decide to sign up too.

I think there was a poll years ago that said 80% were in favour, so 80ish% of the country carrying them would at least make things easier for some institutions.

I suppose what I mean is a means of proving your bona fides, in the sense of entitled to work, access healthcare, or just prove that you have a legitimate right to live in the UK.

Not only do I have no objection to identity cards, I think there should be a universal DNA database.
Imagine how much easier it would be to solve many, many rapes and murders.
And it just might make men think twice before committing these crimes. I actually think it would go some way towards encouraging culture change.
I have thought this for years and years.

It would make public services so much more efficient. So massive yes. Helps that I’ve lived in 2 countries with ID cards and seen how much easier it makes everything.

Yes from me. I have a passport, a driving license and walk around with my phone all the time.

Before anyone rants I was born here but my mother was a non white refugee.

We are missing a vital trick without an ID card that validates nhs, national insurance etc. Legal migrants could get one super quick. Illegal migrants wouldn't have access to a lot of stuff without one.

I'm not a techie geek. How couldit be made to work most smoothly?

No issue with ID cards. Had one from the age of 12 when I lived in another country.

As others have alluded to, I am in favour of an ID card, but only if it is not an additional thing to carry. It should have NHS number, NI number, Passport number, and driving licence on it so I'd only need the one card.

Perhaps it could be a chip in your neck. Like a cat.

Last time they looked into issuing ID cards it turned out to be very expensive. So it was proposed everyone had to pay for their cards. All the public support promptly evaporated.

All those numbers ( other than passport- I can’t think of a country that doesn’t have separate passport numbers as these change when you renew) would become obsolete- your number for all public services would be your ID number.

Actually, as long as it was a modest charge, I would be fairly relaxed about paying for it.

So in the UK, it would probably be your NHS number, which is issued at birth.

it’s about time we had them I can’t even remember the arguments against was it something about infringing our rights to privacy 🙄

had one when living in two other countries it’s very useful

Not everyone has a passport or drivers license. The rest aren’t cards or don’t have digital holograms or whatever to ensure they’re not fakes.

I’d have no issue with an ID card.

Would anyone want to include/encode biometric information?

Going by the uproar last time it was proposed I suspect you are in the minority. I seem to remember they were going to cost about the same as a passport.

As long as I can add it to my Apple Wallet, I have no issues.