Why I’m Opposed to Mandatory Digital ID Cards

The government’s plan to force everyone in the UK to carry a mandatory digital ID card crosses a line. It risks eroding long-held civil liberties while doing little to achieve its stated aim of tackling illegal working and migration.

The Liberal Democrats have always stood up for freedom and privacy, and this scheme goes against both. Digital tools should empower people to have more control over their own data, not hand the government more control over our lives.

There are three big problems with mandatory digital ID cards:

• Privacy: A centralised system like this creates huge risks for how personal data is collected, stored, and used. Once in place, it could quickly be expanded to cover voting, benefits, or even everyday services.

• Exclusion: Millions of people, including older residents, disabled people, or those on low incomes, don’t have access to smartphones or digital services. For them, a digital-only system isn’t a convenience, it’s a barrier.

• Cost: The government is proposing to spend billions on this scheme. That money would be far better spent setting up the Nightingale processing centres we’ve called for to clear the asylum backlog, with plenty left over to support public services.

  
  

The British public has consistently rejected mandatory ID cards. The last Labour government tried, and the Liberal Democrats led the fight to stop it. When we entered government in 2010, one of our first acts was to scrap Tony Blair’s scheme. Fifteen years on, we’re ready to do the same again.

This proposal won’t fix the problems in the immigration system, but it will make life harder for law-abiding people, undermine trust, and waste billions of taxpayers’ money.

We need fair, effective, and compassionate policies, not gimmicks that trample on freedoms.

That’s why I’m backing our petition to oppose mandatory digital ID cards. If you share these concerns, please add your name today.

You can sign the petition here.