Britons wary as Keir Starmer hints at compulsory digital ID cards ahead of Labour conference

Britons are increasingly skeptical about a government-led digital ID scheme, with a YouGov poll for civil liberties group Big Brother Watch finding 63% do not trust the government to keep personal information secure. The poll, conducted among 2,153 adults, comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to announce compulsory digital identity cards for all residents at Labour's annual conference in Liverpool next weekend. The plan would extend across people legally entitled to reside in Britain and would be used for employment verification and rental agreements. Critics warn the move could expand state power and heighten data-security risks even as national cyber threats mount.

The poll's findings are echoed by concerns about recent cyber threats and data breaches. Matthew Feeney, advocacy manager at BBW, said the YouGov results reflect public concern that a digital ID scheme could be vulnerable to cyber-attacks and would alter everyday life. "The Government should abandon plans for a digital ID scheme immediately." The warning follows a series of cyber-attacks against British national infrastructure and a data leak in which details of more than 18,000 people who applied for asylum under the Afghan resettlement scheme ended up in Taliban hands.

The government’s consideration of compulsory IDs comes as the Prime Minister faces political pressure on how to respond to the small boats crisis. Some reports describe the idea as part of broader efforts to restore control over borders and identity verification, though ministers have not publicly outlined a timetable or full details of any legislation.

Conservative MPs have also weighed in. Defence of civil liberties was urged by Andrew Griffith, who wrote on X that civil liberties would be at risk if a digital ID were implemented, adding that "a government that sought prison for tweets cannot be trusted with more control."

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey signaled openness to reconsidering his party’s opposition to digital IDs, telling his party’s annual conference in Bournemouth that he is now open to the idea, provided freedoms are not curtailed.

Campaigners at Big Brother Watch have stressed that mandatory digital ID was not in Labour’s manifesto and argued there has been little public consultation. Interim director Rebecca Vincent said, "No one voted for this, it was not in the Labour party manifesto, and there has been no public consultation. Mandatory digital ID would fundamentally reverse the nature of our relationship with the state, turning Britain into a checkpoint society where an enormous burden will be placed on law-abiding people in having to prove ourselves to go about our everyday lives."

Across the spectrum, analysts say any move toward universal IDs would rekindle a long-running debate about privacy, state powers and the balance between security and civil liberties, particularly at a time when cyber risks and data breaches remain a salient concern for the public. The Labour Party has not publicly released a full policy paper, and the policy discussion is expected to be shaped at the conference in Liverpool next weekend. The clash over ID cards underscores broader tensions within British politics about how to reconcile security imperatives with individual rights as the country navigates post-Brexit governance and evolving digital infrastructure.