Would you support mandatory identity cards in the UK?

[Dbank]

Non-mandatory cards have been attempted multiple times and failed to be adopted, do you think now is the time to make them mandatory?

Ok so if someone has been hit by a car on a country lane and has no mandatory ID card we want them left to die?

If you think there aren’t impacts on making photo ID mandatory which include the ease of foreign invaders to track citizens, you haven’t thought much about it.

Glad you mentioned the genetic element as it recently announced in the news that all babies are to have their full genome sequenced and stored.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jun/20/all-babies-in-england-to-get-dna-test-to-assess-risk-of-diseases-within-10-years

So you can potentially add DNA data added to all the other data!

Don’t be daft.

A v snall number come here overall. Most stop along the way.

Absolute nonsense, as evidenced by several replies on this thread already, including this one.
For clarity I am an upstanding citizen with nothing to hide, no criminal record and even a clean driving license and I object massively to the introduction of mandatory identity cards, especially if it were also mandatory to carry them at all times.
(And frankly as a system of control it makes little sense to introduce them without making carrying them compulsory.)
For example, you'd risk a charge (and possible criminal record) if you didn't have one on you when dropping the kids off at school, meeting a friend at a local pub or cafe, popping to the corner shop for teabags and milk, going to the library or to work, and so on.
Identity cards became very unpopular in this country in the 1950s - introduced during WW2, but left in place for several years afterwards. It came to a head when someone was stopped in their neighbourhood by a local copper - who actually knew the person - and the PC demanded he produce his ID card. The person refused, it ended up in court, the charge was considered unreasonable, the government lost the case and the whole system fell apart. It was a big moment.
It could happen again, some officious individual demands to see your papers without any reason and it gets in news, especially if it gets filmed...

It’s also not about having anything to hide because I am not even against myself personally getting an ID card. I have both a passport and driving license.

but what I chose to do isn’t relevant in the face of it becoming mandatory for the whole of the population. Quite frankly, I support people having the freedom to hide things from the government if they wish.

You can definitely get a provisional licence without photo ID. Both my DC have.

Regarding some kind of mandatory ID. I'm not 100% sure. I dont think ID that you have to have as well as passport/driving license is needed. But there needs to be something that's affordable, available to everyone and universally accepted.
So not a provisional as not everyone can have one. And loads of places don't accept citizen cards, so either that needs to change, or something new bought in.

Well, something needs to be done for those that can't drive, which is more affordable than a passport so that they can access the same bank accounts for example as everyone else. Maybe not a mandatory ID card but an affordable one that is the same as driving licence and passport for using as ID

@PractisingMyTelekenipsis what ID did they use please?

But I have a german ID and also agree it's a non issue.I don't have to have it all the time ob my person.I just use it to access all the things you use your passport for but it's easy to use in my purse.
I don't really understand the upset.My mother has a french one and finds it much easier than the great big british passport.

Birth certificate, change of name deed poll. I can't remember tbh. Might have had to send of proof of NI number. And a photo signed by a professional to say it was them. (We used a friend who's a teacher)

@PractisingMyTelekenipsis thank you 🙂

I don't think many Brits carry their passport around with them on a daily basis.
A driving licence, full or provisional, is more usual (but importantly, not compulsory to carry)
If the police need to see your DL and you haven't got it, you can bring it to your local police station within a specified time period. Although these days I think you can also give your address and DOB along with your car reg if stopped for a traffic offense, collision etc and they can look it up on the PNC. But this is highly specific.

This is so true, I used to be anti them until I moved to a country with them.

It's ridiculous that the UK government requires you to prove who you are - to vote for example or now to access adult content on the internet but doesn't provide a proper means for you to do so.

In the modern world you have to prove who you are frequently and the state should provide that, it's not you losing anything, you're getting something.

Stop being such a childish prat
One card to support processing issues such as voting, bank accounts, working rights, health records, driving data. Obviously made secure. Obviously works well in other countries
Way more efficient with lots of positive uses. Already works well in many countries. Not the catastrophic big deal you are whining about
If you decided not to opt in then you can be inconvenienced by that. Just as you are moaning about re other people.
So melodramatic

I wouldn't support mandatory IDs anywhere, and I'm surprised that any thinking person living in a free country would.

For those of you favoring mandatory IDs, are you aware of how China has been closing in on its citizens?

Are you aware they work very well and efficiently in many other countries?

We have friends who recently came back from China, and the level of surveillance and repression is really scary to hear about - however it is all run by your phone and nothing to do with any id card.

People tend to forget that they are carrying a surveillance device on them at all times already. A rectangle of plastic with a photo is not on the same league.

Carrying a phone is not mandatory

Is that what people are envisioning? It’s talk of digital ID and not sure how much tracking is included.

I agree with pp who talk about caution and seeing what’s possible now rather than systems that were created earlier.

“If you decided not to opt in then you can be inconvenienced by that”

Not only are you incredibly rude and lacking critical thinking but you don’t appear to understand what mandatory means

Not only is carrying a phone not mandatory but the British government does not have access to the tracking data in my phone.

Do you think it would be in any way cheaper or easier to get?

Nor is carrying an ID card, at least where I live.

And I'd bet 99% of people do carry a phone, many even into their bedrooms.

An ID card is free, at least where I live, you can use it to vote, travel to other countries, to open a bank account, to prove your identity online.

I've had a few stops with the police and they've never asked me for it, honestly I think a lot of Brits imagine the Gestapo are running around Europe demanding people's papers like some bonkers episode of Allo Allo.

A universal ID would have to be cheaper and easier to get. If it was mandatory , they wouldn't be able to charge a fortune for it. People wouldn't pay.

It's common sense.

We have a government that displays a staggering lack of competence when it comes to IT systems and data protection. More IT Crowd than Allo Allo.

They are not mooting a physical card, but a virtual one.