As the Labour Party delivered its Conference in Liverpool, the Together Association team that secured 360,000 signatures in 2021 to Downing Street, stopping the introduction of Digital ‘Vaccine Passports’, sent a message to the people of Liverpool, all attendees at the Labour Party Conference, and in particular, PM Keir Starmer: No to Digital ID!
Together are countering and sending a clear message to those who are attempting, once again, to foist mandatory Digital ID upon the people of this country: No to Digital ID! Yes to a Digital Bill of Rights! The Together Association argues that compulsory digital ID cards were not in Labour’s manifesto and even after the General Election, minister Yvette Cooper ruled them out, “That’s not our approach. It’s not in our Manifesto.”
The Together Association states:
These proposals are being framed as a means to “clamp down on illegal immigration” and “Stop the boats” but Germany, France and Italy already have national ID systems – and even worse issues with unauthorised migrants. Last year, Italy had 67,00 ‘small boat’ arrivals vs. 37,000 in non-ID card UK. Germany recorded 91,000 irregular entries in 2022 – around twice the UK’s, in UK’s peak year to date.
It is further claimed that compulsory digital ID cards would prevent illegal working, but again, in countries with advanced ID systems, forged/stolen IDs and off-the- books work remain common. France’s shadow economy is around 10% of GDP, for example, and there is evidence such national IDs simply drive unauthorised migrants towards crime and the like. In the USA, President Trump recently scrapped a digital ID scheme because unauthorised migrants were exploiting it to forge identities and claim entitlements.
Another common misconception is that digital ID cards would help prevent NHS use by illegal migrants. However, NHS GPs and A&E are already open to all by law. Hospital care is already chargeable if you’re not ordinarily resident. This is a deliberate policy choice, supported by NHS guidance – not a tech gap. Forcing digital ID cards on the public would change nothing.
Instead, compulsory digital ID cards threaten to hand enormous power to both the state and private corporations, while creating a permanent underclass of the digitally excluded – those without smartphones, fixed addresses, or the right documents. Over 10m people in the UK lack basic digital skills. Few trust the state to keep their data safe, especially after the Afghan leak scandal or the compromising of 40m voter records via the Electoral Commission.
The scheme is also ripe for mission creep. We saw the dangers during lockdown, when state-controlled digital ID in the form of vaccine passports and was used to create a “Checkpoint Britain” and deny people access to society based on their medical preferences. Last time Tony Blair tried to impose ID cards on the British public, the failed scheme was scrapped in 2010 at a cost of up to £20 billion.
Alan Miller, of the Together Association, adds: “Millions are opposed to Digital ID. We shall not become walking Barcodes treated like criminals. Digital ID will not ‘stop the boats’ nor reduce crime. We stand Together against Digital ID.“
The projections come following protests in the city and the recent stunt in the nearby seaside town of New Brighton, where The James Atherton pub had its name changed to The George Orwell as a nod to the legendary author’s book about a controlled, totalitarian state.
