The national digital ID card system
Posted: 27th September 2025
Today, Labour confirmed it will press ahead with a national digital ID card system. Any system forced on us that is designed to exclude people from vital services like housing and employment will not win the support of the British public and is bound to fail.
In a digital world, there is a greater need for a safe and secure way to prove our identities, but decades of data scandals and faulty programs suggest the Government needs to think about this very carefully and learn from best practice around the world.
Under current plans, the so-called ‘Brit Card’ would only be mandatory for employment checks, but officials have already let slip to some journalists that the Government will look at expanding this.
And a compulsory ID scheme would hand sweeping surveillance powers to the Home Office. A digital ID system designed to reduce irregular migration would be plagued by human rights and discriminatory problems. It will also exclude some of the most marginalised members of society, including those in poverty and the elderly, from housing and employment. We must always retain the right to verify our identity offline to limit the harms of this digital exclusion.
Any trustworthy ID system must be built around access to vital services, not exclusion. It must have robust safeguards around our privacy and data. There must be offline versions for people who need them. And – most importantly – it must be optional, not mandatory.
Do you agree?
Add your name to our petition and join our campaign today.
We have been here before. Tony Blair’s ID card scheme collapsed under the weight of public opposition and wasted millions of pounds. Two decades on, Labour is choosing to repeat the same mistakes, but with even greater risks to our privacy and freedoms.
We hope that the Government learns from the mistakes of the 2000s and the good work done in Europe and beyond to develop rights-respecting ID systems. Digital ID could be an essential tool for every digital citizen, or a nightmarish surveillance system.
Liberty has always opposed mandatory ID cards, and with your help we will stand against them again. Join us, so we can be ready to respond and to push for a system that protects and respects everyone’s rights.
Best Wishes,
Anna Cardoso,
Policy & Campaigns Officer