A PETITION calling on the UK Government to stop plans for the roll out of compulsory digital identity cards has hit another huge milestone – 2 million signatures.
Keir Starmer revealed on Friday his Labour Government's plans for digital IDs to be made mandatory for people working in the UK by 2029.
Ministers had previously said digital IDs would only be needed as proof that someone has the right to work in the UK, but the plans have ignited a major debate on civil liberties.
A petition against the policy, first launched in June by Maxim Sutcliff, had reached 288,087 signatures as of 9pm on Thursday when The National first reported on it.
The petition, titled “Do not introduce Digital ID cards”, has called on the UK Government to commit to not introducing digital ID cards, saying: “We think this would be a step towards mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system.”
On Friday at 3pm, the petition had already hit its first major milestone as more than 1 million people had signed it.
As of Saturday, the petition has reached another huge milestone as it has hit 2 million signatures calling on Starmer’s Government to U-turn on the plans.
The petition is well beyond the 100,000 signatures required to be considered for debate in Westminster.
The online description for the petition states: “We demand that the UK Government immediately commits to not introducing digital ID cards. There are reports that this is being looked at.
“We think this would be a step towards mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system. We oppose the creation of any national ID system.
“ID cards were scrapped in 2010, in our view for good reason.”
At the Global Progress Action summit in London, Starmer said that digital ID would help convince voters the immigration system was “fair”, saying: “Decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them”.
However, plans for digital IDs have already sparked fierce criticism, with opponents lined up against the scheme on all sides of the political spectrum, including within the Labour Party.
On Thursday, after the plans were briefed to parts of the media before Starmer officially announced them, the Scottish Government said it opposed them, saying “the introduction of any card that is compulsory to have, compulsory to carry or that anyone can demand to see, including that of a digital ID.”
Labour left-wingers such as Ian Byrne and Richard Burgon have also already spoken out against the plans, while former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, called them an "affront to our civil liberties".
You can find the petition here.
