Two in three Britons fear safety of Keir Starmer's digital ID card scheme, poll finds

Two in three Britons fear the safety of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's proposed digital ID card scheme, according to a YouGov poll conducted for the civil liberties group Big Brother Watch. The survey of 2,153 adults found 63% do not trust the government to keep personal information secure.

Polling findings come as Labour's annual conference in Liverpool is expected to feature an announcement of compulsory digital ID cards for all residents legally entitled to reside in Britain. If implemented, the cards would be issued to eligible residents and could be used for employment verification and rental agreements.

Britain has faced a string of cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure and a data leak exposing the details of more than 18,000 people who had applied for asylum under the Afghan relocation scheme, with some information reportedly ending up in the hands of the Taliban.

Politically, the digital ID plan has become a flashpoint. The prime minister is said to be weighing the idea as a potential response to the small boats crisis, with reports describing him as ‘desperately thrashing around’ to find a solution.

On the conservative side, some lawmakers have raised civil-liberties concerns. Tory MP Andrew Griffith warned that civil liberties would be at risk if a digital ID is implemented, posting on X that “a government that sought prison for tweets cannot be trusted with more control” and that “a state that can’t run the NHS IT system or secure our borders shouldn’t be trusted to hold the keys to every citizen’s identity.”

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey indicated openness to reconsidering his party’s opposition if safeguards are strong enough. Speaking at the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, he said he is now open to the idea provided freedoms are not curtailed.

Big Brother Watch interim director Rebecca Vincent stressed that the proposal lacks public input. “No one voted for this, it was not in the Labour party manifesto, and there has been no public consultation,” she said. “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.”