National ID Cards

[Chakhakhan77]

Do you believe the government will bring them in? Keep seeing reports of this, freedom of speech slowly being taken away. Lots of videos of big crowds in city centres protesting about immigration. Are these AI videos? Are people/media exaggerating on the number of boats bringing people in? I don't know what is real anymore!

Lots of countries in Europe have these and it’s mandatory to carry them. I’m really not that bothered but I was used to it when living in the Netherlands. I was always jealous if friends travelling in Europe with their comparatively cheap national ID cards whilst I had to bring my passport in pre brexit days.

I do think immigration issue has really come to a head. I don’t think there are easy answers lots of people would qualify as refugees, tens if not hundreds of millions surely? The rules need to change to nearest safe country.

Personally I think it’s absurd that in this day and age we dont have a national id card that is your id, drivers license, voter id, age verification, medical link etc etc. all digitally connected.
It won’t happen any time soon as even if it was ever to get agreed, it will be outsourced and then made over complicated and ultimately scrapped before ever seeing the light of day.

I think I must be watching too many conspiracy theorists videos about the ID cards being used to monitor and control us and it's making me overly angry.

I live somewhere where ID cards have existed for decades and I don’t see how they restrict freedom of speech. They definitely don’t prevent people from having protests and demonstrations (in fact we are famous for it 😁) I’d worry more about the constant tracking and videoing that goes on.

Sorry how are ID cards used to control? Or monitor in any other way than DL or passport or NHS number, or NI number etc does?

ID cards are the last of your worries when it comes to tracking and monitoring if you have a mobile phone

Bring them on! I can’t understand why we don’t have them - so many European countries do.

Can't we just use our national insurance numbercards? We have these already and we can be identified by our NI numbers.

You do realise that all your devices track you and ‘spy on’ you?

And cctv?

I have no problem with this. The number of crimes the police are able to solve now due to mobiles and cctv is phenomenal. I don’t know how the crims make a living these days.

I live abroad and have an ID card. I can use it to access medical treatment, do my taxes, travel in Schengen, access all government services, buy Titres Services (scheme to pay for cleaners etc - which is tax deductible) store warranties for expensive purchases etc etc. If I move house - I have to inform the commune, who will check I live where I say I do, and update the system so key services have my new address. I honestly don't understand why people are so against it in the UK - surely it would decimate fraud - benefit, health, employment, etc etc. Here I need to show that i am eligible for e.g. healthcare or i would be billed for it. My employer knows I have a legal right to work. I declare who lives in my house and their status i.e. family.

We should have had them years ago, many European countries have them.
It’s the reason so many “illegal” migrants want to come here, it’s so easy to get a job working for people who don’t bother doing basic checks, if we had ID cards it would be so much harder for dodgy employers to have them working.

We have thousands of people in the UK who should not be here. Im happy to have a national ID card scheme if it means people here illegally will be identified and deported.

In 20 years no-one ever stopped me in the street to ask for ID.

That's no "proof" of who you are as people can easily carry a NIC card for someone else.

Same way that certain groups "share" driving licences.

We need something biometric to prove that the person holding it IS the person named on the card, such as Iris recognition.

Most of us now carry smart phones with facial recognition, so the "tech" is out there and widely available. Passports are going down the same route especially in Europe and they've had it for a long time in the USA - i.e. more than just a person comparing a photo with the person stood in front of them.

We need something that can prove someone's unique identity to stop the rise in criminality, dangerous/illegal driving, illegal black economy workers, etc.

Control you? Like...make you go to the CoOp when you really wanted to go to Tesco? Something like that?

Madness. Stop watching shit and get a grip.

If you're watching conspiracy theory videos then I'm guessing you're on social media, which means you don't really care that much about your own privacy.

Plenty of countries have ID cards without any violations of their freedoms, they're very useful. The UK attitude to them is bonkers.

I think they would come in very useful for young people who don't or can't have a driving licence or passport and need proof of ID in bars and shops when buying age restricted items.

I've lived on countries with ID cards and it was no different to carrying your driving licence. I think the only time we actually had to show them to anyone was when DH witnessed a crash between a motorcyclist and a car, we had given First Aid to the motorcyclist and the Police just needed to confirm our ID for our statements.

Do people think we would be constantly scanning them to get anywhere for example? Or not pay in shops without them?

You mean like passports and drivers licence and school and work id and all the identifiable information people put on social media and the internet?

Honestly, I gave a lot of power to the Alphabet Corporation (Google) and Meta decades ago. The government also holds a ton of information on me, and as a vetted citizen, I think the police do too. Having a National ID is nothing by comparison.

Bring it on. We should have had them years ago.

Photo ID can now be needed for many things, including voting at a UK polling station now. Don't say "just take your passport or driving licence" because neither are compulsory documents so not everyone has them. Not everyone drives or even learns to so they don't need a licence, and you don't need a passport unless you want to travel abroad.

So an acceptable National Identity card should do the trick, surely. Other countries ) Germany, Netherlands etc.) manage to have them without issues so why not the UK?

Anyone who is that worried about being tracked should probably never have a mobile phone, tablet of any sort or a laptop computer. You can be tracked all day and every day by these but in reality if you hadn't come to the attention of police or security services then it's unlikely they would bother with you.

We use them for everything where I am from. You can't sign contracts or take out loans, pick up official "to own hands" letter etc without it. It basic identifier. We have chip ones now and it's so easy.

Re NI cards, as pp said, not a proof of identity plus they stopped issuing them in 2010 or so.

I would still like OP to explain what exactly is the problem with them re free speech and monitoring, controlling. And no, I won't go watch some conspiracy videos

Would be good if the uk could join the rest of the world and bring in national ID cards.
Having an identification number makes life so much easier - no more trying to prove your identity and address with a gas bill addressed to you or use convoluted, easily forgotten, log in methods on government websites.

I just really don’t see why people are concerned.

it should be a nominal fee, and that’s that. You carry it with you. When I go to Italy in a couple of weeks I’ll need to have my passport on me at all times, and I’ll comply because those are the laws. Really not that big a deal