To be absolutely fuming about the digital ID thing?

[summerlovingvibes]

I work as a nurse in England.

I just feel absolutely fuming about the digital ID proposals and don't know how to channel my anger??

I very strongly object to this. It makes my blood boil when I think about it and I feel anxious knowing that something like this may be imposed on us all.

It is not going to stop illegal immigration. That line is absolute BS. They're doing it for their own selfish reasons.

What do we do? I don't want to not work, but I am going to refuse to have one. So my employer may sack me?!

It's just ridiculous!

Obviously I've signed the petition, emailed my MP, will join any protests etc.

But practically speaking - will my employer actually sack me for not having one?

Would you like me to show you the Covid threads from five years ago where ppl were screaming for us to emulate China? And if Farage had been at the helm..........................

Yep, people being turned away from pubs etc for not having the Covid app.
Then calls came for people to be turned away for not having the vaccine... and proof on the app.
People have short memories.

Yes And id include the Goverment in that Of both colours. They like to pretend it never happened

You live semi off grid? Doesn’t sound like it.

Can you be “semi” off grid? Surely you’re either “off grid”‘ or “on grid”?

You’re coming across as rude and unpleasant

so I support repeated pointing out how nonsensical you are

Also, there was some biometric ID scheme in India that glitched and loads of people ended up with out food.
And here in Blighty, there was an IT scheme that glitched, and loads of postmasters ended up in prison, on the say-so of "computer says no".

Yes And id include the Goverment in that Of both colours. They like to pretend it (lockdown) never happened.
Yep. That's one thing the parties are all agreed on. "Shhhh... lockdown never really happened... remember, the script is that all our woes are because of the pandemic; schools stayed open the whole time, nobody's businesses were destroyed; and we can't understand why the public is objecting to the idea of digital ID so much... we must find something to distract them with...

I’m sorry but this ^ imo is your classic example of paranoia
Lots of people thought we were being "paranoid" when we foresaw lockdowns lasting months and months and months once they had started, and the government effectively bullying the public into taking the vaccine, with thinly veiled threats of "optional, but you may not be able to be part of society if you don't". I foresee similar echoes with digital ID. "Optional, but you will not be able to find employment if you don't." (Bring on the crime spiral.) And in five, ten or twenty years' time: "you will not be able to be part of society, or access your money if you don't." That's the part we are worried about. Not what is on the table now, but what may be sneaked in later, and the public will be wondering "how did we get here?". I haven't forgotten that Tesco ad of Santa waving his Vaxpass (and I've barely shopped at Tesco since), and I'm sure there will be plenty more adverts showing how slick and convenient digital ID will be, while big money changes hands at the top.

All those who think "due process will prevent a government from misusing digital ID": the safeguards for this are extremely fragile. We've seen how easily Trump could dismantle the safeguards that prevent him from being accountable to anybody. We saw how Boris prorogued Parliament. We saw how Covid legislation was waved through with no Parliamentary scrutiny. We saw how in Canada, the truckers had their bank accounts stopped, when they did something the government didn't like. Dictators-in-waiting around the world (including on our shores) are watching with interest. What we need to think about is what is not being talked about. I'm wondering: why was ID for elections "suddenly" brought in recently? Why wasn't this done years ago? Has electoral fraud only "recently" become a problem? Is the next step "digital ID is the only ID accepted to vote"? Nobody in government has said anything about that.

Data and AI capability probably. In the same way it’s now possible to scan benefit recipient bank accounts in the millions, which some charities have rallied against. It’ll ramp up as AI is used more.

It’s more for those in the system not illegal migrants, that really is a nonsense excuse to get people to buy into it.

Meanwhile, in other news:
Police say they have dismantled an international gang suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China in the past year.
The number of phones stolen in London has almost tripled in the last four years, from 28,609 in 2020, to 80,588 in 2024.
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics found that "theft from the person" has increased across England and Wales by 15% in the year ending March 2025, standing at its highest level since 2003.

BBC

The stated purpose of a Digital I.D, is apparently to stop illegal immigration by making it "impossible" for people to work without having one.

The fundamental flaw with this is that you already must to provide a national insurance number to work here. Anyone who is willing to hire a worker illegally, without asking for their national insurance number, isn't going to be bothered about not asking for a Digital I.D either. So the premise that a Digital I.D will disrupt illegal immigration is false.

Looking at the wider picture then, what is the real purpose?

This is why you are being naive.

There’s a lot to be fussed about and the people who are following blindly into this are incredibly naive at best.

Silkie Carlo from Big Brother Watch, bigbrotherwatch.org.uk, was just on the Triggernometry podcast, https://x.com/triggerpod/status/1974897624823304622, and it is worth a watch. I would recommend following Big Brother Watch and support their campaign.

Do you understand that your driving licence and passport are just a physical manifestation of digital records?

The ID is going to be digital-first to save money (no printing and distribution costs) and because it makes authentication more fool proof. Of course physical cards will also be available for those who don’t have the ability to use a digital ID (primarily, those without smart phones).

Of course physical cards will also be available for those who don’t have the ability to use a digital ID (primarily, those without smart phones).
Of course. Absolutely, of course. Naturally. Foregone conclusion. Of course, when a politician says "of course", it means exactly that.
"Of course there were no parties in Downing Street."
"Of course I won't cancel Christmas 2020, it would be inhumane."

Does it matter anyway? If there’s limits on what can be accessed without a digital ID or the printed out version of that the impact is still the same. Citizens will be constrained, illegal immigrants won’t.

It’s pretty obvious the current system isn’t working. Just look at the kind of exploitation happening in some businesses. Like nail salons using illegal immigrant workers working under slave labour.

If new ID cards were brought in, a lot of these shady operations could be shut down and the criminal groups behind them would start to disappear too.

Just because you don’t fully understand why the government is introducing them doesn’t mean you should jump to conclusions, especially when there’s no solid info backing your point.

Honestly, it’s kind of ironic that you’re calling me naive.

Why are people assuming that people will suddenly have to show this go into restaurants and shops and them being entitled to refuse entry? Or that it will be cancelled if you speak against the prime ministers? Where tf is this coming from?

It’s pretty obvious the current system isn’t working. Just look at the kind of exploitation happening in some businesses. Like nail salons using illegal immigrant workers working under slave labour.
You can see it, I can see it, everybody can see it! Apart from enforcement agencies, apparently.
Why is no action taken? They should try implementing the law we already have before introducing an expensive new system.

How would a different form of ID do that?

If employers ignore the current system why would another one change anything?

The problem with Digital I.D isn't what this current Government intends to use it for, but what the next one will do with it.

It's primary purpose is to stitch all digital records together with a unique reference number. This gives the authorities/government full oversight into every aspect of your life. Currently that data is held by different departments and organisations which don't communicate effectively. A Digital I.D will make this process seamless.

There is no scenario in which access to, and control over this data, won't be abused.

Mission creep will mean that the requirement to scan your I.D won't just be limited to a job application. It will be necessary (under the excuse of "safety" or "security") to use it in ever more places and situations.

These, I have no doubt, will include access requirements to virtually anywhere you will go.

Scan to walk into a train station or airport. Hire a car. Use a library. Visit a hospital, doctor, dentist. I can see it being a requirement to enter shopping centres and stadiums.

If it can be recorded by your I.D, you will be required to scan it.

It won't take long before suggestions are made to use it within the criminal justice system, likely as a means of "community sentencing". Why give unpaid work, when it would be so much cheaper to simply use a Digital I.D to restrict and control someone's movements as a form of court punishment. A court mandated exclusion from travel, or access to serving places. Even banning an individual from purchasing alcohol if they have been involved in an offence where alcohol has been cited as a contributing factor, drink driving or ASB for example.

This would very quickly allow the same thinking to be used as a solution for other "problems". Net Zero has been enshrined in law, a Digital I.D will absolutely be used to "help" meet that target. So perhaps your EV won't power up on days the local council block your I.D. Or your access to public transport is blocked to help manage passenger numbers. Or on a more sinister level, if your online activity suggests you may be attending a protest, your Digital I.D could be blocked to prevent you travelling there.

This is the problem with a Digital I.D.

Obviously physical alternatives will be available, because, counter to what some people seem to think, the people designing the scheme, whether you agree with them or not, are not complete idiots. Just as many people now have their train tickets on their phone, the option of paper tickets will always be available. A digital-only scheme would obviously open a huge door to non-compliance so obviously physical alternatives will be available.

Or do you honestly believe that the government is going to compel everyone to buy a smartphone?

Anyway, from the discussion paper https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/digital-id-scheme-explainer/digital-id-scheme-explainer

As part of our consultation, we will be making sure the scheme is inclusive by considering:

• physical alternatives are available for those without smartphones
• face-to-face help is on hand during rollout and for ongoing support
• dedicated casework is provided for challenging situations such as people who lack proofs of their identity

Idk why this is a changing factor, apart from not making people buy phones.

@Chiseltip can you give some examples of all these things you are prophesising happening in other countries with a unified ID system? Do you need to show your ID to enter a shopping centre in Denmark? Or to buy a train ticket in Sweden? No of course you don't.

@Chiseltip literally big brother is watching you. It scares me how blindly we could be walking into this. You can't just think of how it would work now, but if a more dictorial party were in power, and how they would use this information to control.

@Pharazonwhy do you want it, what will it do?

'They' already have this information and much of it is already linked - that's why you only need one photo for your passport and driving licence. If this is your fear, the existence of a personal manifestation of that data (i.e. a digital or physical ID card that you have access to) is the least of your worries.