A UK government plan to introduce a nationwide digital identification system is moving ahead, despite a public backlash that saw more than 2.7 million people sign a petition urging its cancellation.
The proposal, first announced by Labour in September, would provide a digital ID to every UK citizen and legal resident aged 16 and above.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed the new system would help strengthen border enforcement and reduce illegal employment, describing the ID, dubbed the “Brit Card,” as a tool to “make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.”
The public response was overwhelmingly opposed. Warnings about centralized data collection, privacy intrusions, and increased state surveillance flooded public discourse.
Descriptions of the proposal ranged from a “dystopian nightmare” to fears of a gateway to “digital control.”
Not long after Labour’s announcement, a petition was created on the official UK Government and Petitions website.
Hellbound and Down 