ID cards to be introduced. What do you feel. ?

[Fishingboatbobbingnight]

I have worked in serious organised crime for two decades. This is one of the best bits of news I have read in a long while. I have also been involved in ‘small boat’ arrivals. The reason people will by pass several safe EU countries to get to the UK is ‘I can get lost if I don’t get asylum’ ‘UK has no ID cards’ . It’s a no brainer .. why why has it taken so long. ? If you want to have the services your country has to offer - through most of the world - from healthcare to the library- you need to show you are a bona-fida citizen. However , for some unfathomable reason , the flag waving right wingers are always the one to oppose ..is it because they are scared it will work and leave their thinly veiled racism floundering ?

Yes to ID cards = YANBU
No to ID cards = YABU

Where I lived before it was mandatory to give to police when asked. 80euro fine up to 100euro these days. I suspect it’ll become mandatory too here in time. Doesn’t bother me tbh.

I really don’t see the issue. We have no end of ID already, passport, driving licence, bus pass, blue badge,utility bills, NHS numbers, NI number and so on. How much better to have it all in one place ( well apart from passports)

Lots of countries, including European ones beloved so much by the brexit haters on here have them, no issues.

Hopefully the Government will work to make sure it’s all kept safe, other countries do so learn from them

I had one the last time they were introduced/trialled for about 9 months, before the Tories got rid of them.
Just the same as a passport and I have no issue in carrying one. You keep your driving licence with you, don’t you?

You're supposed to carry id in most European countries so what’s the difference?

I think it will cost a huge amount of money
that the system will be hacked or go down or both
I also worry that we don’t seem to be particularly good at safeguarding our data

I think at the moment that the money could probably be better spent elsewhere

I love how so many of you think that everyone has a mortgage, a driving licence, a paye job and a bank account. Large numbers of the population operate off grid and simply won’t respond to any expectations that they supply information, apply for anything or carry anything. They operate in cash, they don’t deal with the tax man and accommodation is a more casual thing. And that’s not including quite a large number of people that have an objection to ID cards and won’t comply on principle. There is zero chance of 100% compliance.

I have also been involved in ‘small boat’ arrivals. The reason people will by pass several safe EU countries to get to the UK is ‘I can get lost if I don’t get asylum’ ‘UK has no ID cards’ Completely disagree. There are lots of EU countries who do have ID cards who take far more asylum applicants than the UK. And even if their intention is to just disappear, if you’ve worked where you say you’ve worked, you’ll know how easy it is to do just that when you’ve got a network of people willing to pay you in cash and rent accommodation to you unofficially. Loads of employers are still found to be employing illegal workers now, despite the threats of prison sentences and unlimited fines. If that isn’t enough to make them stop hiring people without the correct documentation, what difference will ID cards make? If migrants want to disappear, all they need to do is avoid you and your mates with the fingerprint machines. ID cards aren’t going to change that.

It’s not one single thing that’s going to stop it, but I believe this could certainly help.

Where I live it is not mandatory to carry your ID.

We should start taking bets on which company ‘wins’ the contract to supply and manage these cards and then which MPs are involved in that company/make millions off the back of it. I’m sick of this sticking plaster approach. It’s just another thing to shut us up for a while and keep us hoping thus will magically change the complete lack of control the government has on anything.

Nope, I already have ID. I can’t work without that ID. And I don’t really want to give the government an easy digital way to track me because that’s just way too much oversight for too little security in return. I worry about where that leads to, especially in a world where digital tracking and monitoring is becoming ever more embedded by corporations.

And it’s not the right wing or the left wing against digital ID cards (with notable exceptions), it’s historically been liberals opposed to them (centre-left I guess). When I saw that the Lib Dems were supporting them, I have to admit, I was really disappointed.

It smacks of opportunism by the government - sneaking in a form of digital control dressed up in the name of national security while emotions run high about illegal immigration. What they will do with the data from those cards in the years to come is very dependent on the quality of our leaders and recent years have not left me with much hope on that front.

Makes me quite nervous for my kid’s’ future.

No fucking way what an utter joke! The government are shut enough at handling our data as it is.

If only you knew who the illegal immigrants were, imagine if the government was able to pick them all up from somewhere (like where they landed) and then house them in government operated buildings...

How?

I’ve had one since I moved here, granted they moved the Biometric Residence Permit to digital last year I think,

Had ID cars growing up in the States so nothing new really.

Another question … how do mothers prove who their children are in order to claim child benefits???

I often think that if you have to provide a form of ID for something (such as collection of a parcel) what do you provide in this country if you don't have a passport or driving licence. If you have a condition which means you cannot drive and so cant apply for a licence then presumably you'd have to spend a fortune on a passport just to have ID, what do people do? Does anyone have experience of this?

Those who are concerned about data security, do you currently have a drivers license, passport, do you get paid by PAYE ? If so your info is already in the government system, so what's the difference?

They can be linked but not automatically without consent ie when you apply for jobs.

What right thinking person would put all their information into one pot?

Honestly if I were the government I'd just say "digital ID will help England win the World Cup", and enough people would believe it, and then use stupid arguments like "so you don't want England to win the World Cup?".

Digital ID has nothing to do with illegal immigration, particularly as we already have ID and national insurance numbers and that hasn't stopped anything.

The flag shaggers, masked ebike riders and assorted villains won't have them or they will have dodgy ones from a mate. Neither will those who don't pay for car insurance or don't have a driving license. Will Farage and our Tommeh be the first in the queue?
How much is it costing, who is running it, can it be hacked, what are the parameters? Devil is in the details. I doubt I'll be getting one unless forced to.
Is this spare HS2 money paying for it?

What benefits? How exactly does someone who is an illegal immigrant access benefits?

This information will be held in one centralised data bank. Not like now with different agencies holding different data. It will be the holy grail of hackers. Think how much they can sell your info for on the dark web, from this introduction.

Because Digital ID is designed to be used by private organisations.

Essentially using social media will require Digital ID and then your internet activity is tied to your ID.

If it was that easy they would be hacking banks to get your money. Whoever ‘they’ are!

Makes it easier to track people. Makes it harder for people to claim to be someone they are not ( a tactic used but illegal immigrants, adopting the identity of someone who was here legally and has left). Makes it harder to access healthcare if you are here illegally ( as long as people in healthcare settings enforce it). If I go to a hospital in France without an id or a “carte vitale” ( needed to access healthcare) I pay. That was the case even before Brexit. Makes it harder to pick up casual work. Things are just too easy here at present.

I don’t care. I’m a law abiding citizen. I’m willing to admit that I haven’t thought through potential pitfalls though.