AIBU to think that Digital ID will not stop illegal immigration, and nor is it a good idea?

[Westfacing]

How will this prevent boat crossings?

It's nothing to do with illegal working. Don't fall for that lie.

Big Bother wants to watch you.

How about we don’t give them an ID when they arrive? Or perhaps one that says they can’t buy anything, work anywhere or get free healthcare?

Oh, and political pundits on the news are already mentioning France having these ID cards, as if France doesn't have massive illegal immigrant black economy and criminal gang problems of its own. Hardly reassuring.

Indeed.

There was a thread some time back about the State Pension and Tax - someone pointed out that the SP couldn't be taxed at source if it went over a certain limit as the HMRC computer system couldn't 'talk' to the DWP system.

Even if it did all work - imagine the cost!

This is just another way of edging closer to having more and more control over our lives. They will want our bank accounts linked to it and the second we say or do something they don’t like it will be access revoked.

It had zero to do with stopping illegal immigration. If they wanted to stop that, they would.

It’s a huge no from me.

I've always wondered why we don't have ID cards, many countries do.

Dwp have the power to check all claimants accounts. It’s just a small step away from control.

These ID cards are not for our benefit.

Hate to break it to you but everything you say there is already the case (apart from it being compulsory to have a passport).

Not sure where the moped thing comes in though 😕

It feels very Black Mirror, I am very far from the tin foil hat brigade but I am not comfortable with it for the reasons many others have already said.

You’d just buy a fake one as my sister did when she was illegal in the US for 7 years.

I'm totally against this for the reasons many others have already posted. I'll be interested to know what they intend this ID to store: name, DOB, NI Number, NHS number, address, photo, driving licence status, etc.

Disaster waiting to happen. I'm also not sure how you are meant to be able to prove who you are to get one of these if you don't already have some form of government-issued ID?

Because a lot of people in Britain really, really don't like the idea. To the extent that when we last did, in WW2, we got rid of them afterwards. So although they've been mooted sometimes, no government has ever gone there because the political risk and expense weren't worth it.

The countries that do border many other countries and can be used in lieu of a passport.

Agree- in this day and age, the applications and potential abuses are terrifying.

Yes, the fact that it's a digital ID is most worrying. A click of a button somewhere and it could be used to stop you from accessing all sorts of things or, alternatively, compel you to do others. Big Brother, The Handmaid's Tale, social credit, controlling where you spend your money or what you can spend it on. All very sinister and all potentially one step closer if the government is handed this kind of power. Your card gets flagged and then all of a sudden you are frozen out of all services, all public transport, all shops UK-wide.

Reform says "It's laughable that those already breaking immigration law will suddenly comply, or that digital IDs will have any impact on illegal work, all it will do is impinge further on the freedoms of law-abiding Brits." - I would venture that actually all it will do is impinge further on the freedoms of law-abiding Brits *with noncaucasian skin tone" because I bet there will be bias in who/how/where/when the ID is demanded, and it will be used as a tool or harassment like the Pass laws in South Africa.

For a start it's going to need a bigger database cos there's a bigger population here

@RedToothBrush - bigger population than where? France's population is only a million fewer than ours and Germany's is over 10 million more.

@GoodTimesNoodleSalad - the government can (and do to some degree already) do all of those things already if they really want to. If you think they can't then I have a bridge to sell you!

Wouldn't a better example be, say, Denmark where they've had digital ID for ages rather than non-democractic China? We are far more similar to Denmark or France or Germany than we are to China.

Quite beyond abuse by Government (which is bad enough), what about hackers? M&S, the Co-op, JLR and many others have been ground to a halt by ransomware. Imagine that sort of hack being applied across every person in the whole country!

They do. But they've had a system set up for years so not merging things and setting up a new system and they want the all singing all dancing system the British will be after

Imagine the cost now. Illegal working, dodged taxes, NHS treatment not paid for by taxes, I’m totally ok with a formal, you have the right to work and use services in the uk. Totally.

It means the capacity for things to go south is much higher with a larger database.

Denmark has about half the population of London and is a totally different society from the UK.

Do Germany or France have DIGITAL ID?

Is the king getting one?

They have IDs yes that are also physical and digital.

you also have a load of digital IDs anyway. Tax oauer reference, driving licence number passport number and all the rest