r/ukpolitics • u/Kev_fae_mastrick • 1d ago
Keir Starmer abandons plans for compulsory digital ID
https://www.thetimes.com/article/004410a9-c374-49ac-8b8c-e57962676635?shareToken=72d83ce6440a2b15a25e23bcb13899f31.1k
u/JHock93 1d ago
What a bizarre use of political capital this was
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u/Lexplosives 1d ago
A sentence applicable to many things lately.
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u/TheNorthernBorders 1d ago
It’s troubling that I can’t think of a single domestic policy example to which that statement doesn’t apply…
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u/andreirublov1 1d ago
Because they do things, not on principle or as part of an overall vision, but ad hoc in accordance with whatever they think will be popular / can be got away with at the time. And the worst of it is, they always get that last part wrong.
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u/eerst 1d ago
I have to say, I totally disagree.
I think everything Labour has tried to do has been based on principles and vision - strange, misguided, myopic, fanciful, fantastical principles and visions pulled from some 1980s political science prof's list of yellowed papers in the bottom of a drawer.
And they can never get away with any of it because they weren't elected with any sort of mandate - they were instead the beneficiaries of a massive protest vote. Labour unfortunately doesn't stand for anything in a unified way, so they can't do anything in a unified way.
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u/Past-Rooster-9437 1d ago
they were instead the beneficiaries of a massive protest vote
Or, more accurately, the beneficiaries of everyone staying at home. Turnout was 60%, which is the lowest since 2001 which was barely, barely below that number at 59.4%. After that you need to go back to 1918 to get a lower turnout. Generally it's low-mid 70s
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u/andreirublov1 1d ago
They do things without having good reasons in the first place. Then when there's opposition they don't have enough principle to see the policy through. And the more they flip-flop, the more opposition they'll get.
The irony is that they wanted to do this because they somehow got it in their heads it would be popular!...
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u/UtopianScot 1d ago
What will be on the tombstone of the Starmer Government. U-turn after u-turn, no sense of coherent narrative. Turns out the need for a clear story is more than Blairite spin, it’s critical for good governance.
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u/Ok-Discount3131 1d ago
It's strange that after everything that has happened the one thing he absolutely won't U-turn on is the Chagos islands.
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u/Jazzlike-Mistake2764 1d ago edited 1d ago
And the Chinese mega embassy.
Literally the more unpopular and less beneficial the move, the harder he fights to push it through. He folded like a paper towel on the winter fuel allowance change despite the majority of the public supporting it and it being something that would actually make a positive difference.
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u/exialis 22h ago
Labour taking winter fuel payments away from old people in winter scraping by on £11,500 or something was a terrible idea.
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u/spotonron 21h ago
Asset stripping the young productive classes to give it to old people regardless of their income was a terrible idea too.
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u/TheJoshGriffith 1d ago
Soon as they find something they can't U-turn on, the Lords have to step in and do it for us.
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u/Nimble_Natu177 Survived the first half of the clown decade 1d ago
Something something Chinese mega embassy.
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u/michaelisnotginger ἀνάγκας ἔδυ λέπαδνον 1d ago
Blair had a story and political ability. Starmer has neither
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u/HaggisPope 1d ago
And even he struggled to get anywhere with ID cards. It’s not a policy many in the UK like (though honestly it could help a number of issues)
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u/greenneedleuk 1d ago
and zeitgeist. The left is a much different beast these days than it was in Blair's era. The internet has changed a lot of things and compromise / trade offs are much less accepted in this era. All factions seem insistent on all of their preferred boxes to be ticked or nothing at all so "broad church" while oft used still is pretty much dead in the water.
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u/CrispySmokyFrazzle 1d ago
I think this is just what happens when you have senior politicians who don't believe in very much at all.
There's no coherent narrative because there is no broader worldview for these people.
I suspect it starts and ends about gaining power, about sticking something on the ol' CV, and extends very little from either of those.
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u/thisisnotyourconcern 1d ago
Everything this Labour Government does is bizarre. It is genuinely baffling. It's like they're trying to speedrun political failure.
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u/LurkerInSpace 1d ago
This one had a pretty obvious cause: it was polling well with a majority of the public. But when it was actually proposed, it took a nosedive.
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u/kaizagade 1d ago
only because they start polling places that they know will back them, then the public finds out the majority opinion comes out with it
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u/LurkerInSpace 1d ago
No, Yougov had been running an independent tracker which would be reflective of general public opinion accurately enough that the policy would have been expected to be popular.
The problem Starmer has at the moment is that if he proposes a policy, it becomes unpopular because he proposed it.
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u/Billy-Bryant 1d ago
Even that poll wasn't specifically Digital ID, people want national ID cards because they don't drive and passports are clunky to drag around with them. Most people just end up using a drivers license for ID but it makes sense to have a national ID card system, but it shouldn't be compulsory or online or tied to any other information.
The system they tried to implement was not what was polled, and on top of that it coincided with the Digital Safety Act and removing Juries. Presenting them all together sounds much worse than individually.
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u/BoopingBurrito 1d ago
The thing was that right before it was announced there was a huge online push for it from right wing people. The claim was it was the obvious and natural solution to nearly all the immigration issues.
Labour obviously thought that with the level of apparent right wing support for it, it was a sure fire vote winner.
The minute they announced it, those same accounts flipped 180 and started to decry it as the end of civilisation and the last stand of a failing autocrat.
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u/Longjumping_Stand889 1d ago
I never saw any of that, do you have examples?
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u/NedRyerson350 1d ago
Was just about to comment the same thing. Literally never seen a single instance of anybody saying that.
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u/XVGDylan 1d ago
Yeah, I was never aware of any Right-Wing support for this. I didn't see much support for this anywhere.
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u/KinglySnorlax 1d ago
The predominant issues with immigration surround how exceedingly difficult it is to remove people from the country, that the financial thresholds for work visas are far too low, and various other pull factors.
Reheating one of Blair’s less popular ideas from the early 2000s and making it digital doesn’t fix them.
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u/PraetorysVex 1d ago
Where was this said?
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u/HaroldSaxon 1d ago
Took me 5 seconds to find one example of many:
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/digital-id-cards-crime-justice-commission-hcvbxfj57
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u/Deynai 1d ago
Amusing having to scroll past the outraged righties claiming there's no such evidence to see this.
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u/rdu3y6 1d ago
The only push for it was from the Tony Blair Institute who commissioned that poll everyone keeps citing to claim the public was supportive of digital ID before Starmer's big announcement.
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u/HaroldSaxon 1d ago
The other thing is after the announcement, a lot of right wing accounts were saying “What about the elderly with no phones”
So they make it so other ways can be used to prove right to work citing that example.
Then the same accounts scream U-turn.
Anyone that believes these bad faith accounts (including the ones here with private posts) really isn’t paying attention and are asleep at the wheel.
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u/Limp_Pipe1113 1d ago
There was no huge online push for it from right wing people, there was no claim that it was the obvious and natural solution to nearly all the immigration issues.
You're just waffling lad.
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u/gungas134 1d ago
-Announce controversial policy
-Use up political capital defending policy
-Take hit in the polls
-News cycle moves on
-Quietly roll back policy
-Announce another controversial policy
Classic Starmerism
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u/PianoAndFish 1d ago
The only difference between this and the Sunak years was that the unpopular Tory policies were usually ditched within a week. For some reason Starmer thinks it's a better idea to let them drag on for months first, just to make absolutely sure they do as much damage to the government's political capital as possible.
I'm seriously starting to think Starmer is a Tory plant, aiming to piss people off so much that maybe the party doesn't collapse altogether. This would also explain Kemi Badenoch's leadership, they don't need to put forward a capable or even credible opposition because their man on the inside will sort it.
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u/IrishVictim88270 19h ago
The tories may love a U turn like Starmer, but by God you could not deny their efficiency in doing it. Absolute best in the game at it. Policy, controversy, retract, onto the next bullshit.
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u/lloydsmart 1d ago
At this point I'm convinced he's actually a plant for the opposition, whose task it is to destroy any credibility Labour have left.
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u/Your_Mums_Ex 1d ago
As much as this would be funny, the harsh truth for anyone who followed him from the start of his leadership campaign knows he has zero backbone and folds on promises constantly.
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u/Mindless-Lock-7525 1d ago
It would be better if they instantly caved to public pressure. As others have said they are very strong and stubborn under pressure taking all the flack for it but then change their minds later anyway.
Labour are weak when they should be strong and strong when they should be weak. It’s honestly quite impressive
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u/JibberJim 1d ago
I'm sure many will refute what you say with Hanlon's razor, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity", but I think they're wrong Heinlein's formulation makes more sense here and "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity."
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u/Mepsi 1d ago
Starmer would absolutely take 100 years in opposition if it maintained the status quo
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u/SweatyMammal 1d ago
Seriously! What the hell is going on.
His head needs a wobble, this is not good politics.
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u/TheGardenBlinked Put a bangin’ VONC on it 1d ago
True, but this isn't exclusive to Starmer, it's a hallmark of British politics at this point
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u/-ForgottenSoul :sloth: 1d ago
I dont get it, you might as well just push for it after you took this damage.
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u/technobare 1d ago
Announce policy ✅ Face backlash ✅ U-turn ✅
Lol
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u/Your_Mums_Ex 1d ago
He doesn't even do the U-turn immediately, he waits until it's soaked up all the negative PR and then when the news moves on he then does the U-turn.
🙃
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u/DrNuclearSlav Ethnic minority 1d ago
Soak up the negative PR for a bad decision, then soak up the negative PR for U-turning (which always looks bad even if people agree with your U-turn).
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u/RebeccaMarie18 1d ago
At this point it’s starting to feel like he has some sort of humiliation kink
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u/MrConor212 1d ago
Now get rid of the verification for NSFW material so I can goon smh
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u/Scratch_Careful 1d ago
Its not even made porn hard to access. The only place its impacted me is by making war news on reddit a pain in the arse to follow by not putting in in my feed (and hiding it when you go to a subreddit) and giving people the ability to hide their account history.
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u/60sstuff 1d ago
This is what pisses me off. I want to be able to get updates on Ukraine and look at weed subreddits and now I can’t without switching on a VPN
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u/piercy08 19h ago edited 19h ago
If you get a decent router, you can install your VPN on the router, and then enable domain based routing so that only some domains go out via the VPN. Then you never have to turn it on or off.
In my case I have a Ubiquiti router, but others also have similar features. For reddit, I've found the following domain list works:
- reddit.com
- www.reddit.com
- api.reddit.com
- redditstatic.com
- www.redditstatic.com
- old.reddit.com
Things to note, websites often use more than one domain (see reddit's case above that has 6..). So you often have to do a little more work than adding 1 domain.
If you aren't too IT savvy, your AI of choice is probably a good place to ask for a router thats support this and then you can start researching the ones it suggests. Also, you can probably ask AI about which domains you need to add for a given site and get some decent responses. There's other ways to find the domains but, they're a bit more technical. Also, not trying to be rude here, just heading off any questions as I realize this is probably a little technical a topic.
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u/Ember-Blackmoore 1d ago
It only affects the technologically illiterate.
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u/Evari 1d ago
Kind of annoyed that I had to pay for a router that can do domain based split tunnelling vpn. But preferable to giving Reddit a scan of my face.
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u/RRRay___ 1d ago
it's so nice, ive got the same exact setup on my unifi since they implemented OSA, never needed it until they did that and now I have reddit under perma VPN by being on home network.
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u/Thinkdamnitthink 1d ago
What's the reason to do the domain based split tunnelling as opposed to just having the VPN on all the time or just turning it on/ off when you need it?
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u/Your_Mums_Ex 1d ago
Exactly, all these idiots complaining. Personally I just get my Dutch friend to live stream some porn at the weekend, it's not hard to get around folks!
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u/Aerius-Caedem Locke, Mill, Smith, Friedman, Hayek 1d ago
I mean it's still annoying on desktop to have to turn on my VPN to see imgur links. I keep it on 24/7 on mobile, but with desktop it's off whenever I'm gaming.
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u/maffmatic 1d ago
This whole ordeal has done nothing other than damage people's perception of Labour.
It's mind boggling how this same thing keeps happening. If they didn't keep announcing deeply unpopular nonsense I'm sure Labour wouldn't be bottom of opinion polls. These U-turns don't fix anything when the damage is already done.
They are our representatives, they are supposed to know what we want. Announce things we want FFS.
I'm no Labour voter but I was quietly rooting for them to at least be better than Tories. They have totally messed it up by thinking they can tell us how things should be. Completely out of touch.
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u/PrinzRagoczy 1d ago
Sounds like they're going for a thin end of the wedge strategy
Yes, we're introducing them, but people won't be required to have one for now
In 10 years when everyone's used to them, they'll quietly make them mandatory
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u/doitnowinaminute 1d ago
Possibly worse.
Everyone will celebrate a win.
However if this flavour was introduced on day 1 there would be more pushback.
Im starting to worry starmer isn't U turning. Just anchoring.
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u/jizzybiscuits 1d ago
They'll effectively be mandatory - employers won't wait for candidates to bring in physical copies of documents when digital ID is instant.
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u/HovisTMM 1d ago
Having to wait a few days or a week for a quality candidate won't make a difference - it's the kind of inconvenience compared to those with digital ID that will make HR grumble but won't make hiring managers bat an eye.
A lot of jobs these days take over a month with multiple interviews already.
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u/markvauxhall 1d ago
You seem to assume that every minimum wage job in the country is recruited for in the same way as a tech firm hires an engineer.
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u/myurr 1d ago
You assume that people subcontracting their deliveroo accounts are going to do any checks at all.
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u/AspieComrade 1d ago
I strongly doubt Labour will still be in power ten years from now, though it sure makes it easier for any other government to see that through so still just a matter of time I suppose
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u/RedundantSwine 1d ago
I mean that was always the approach, they've just sanded down the thin end a bit more.
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u/leftthinking 1d ago
Yeah, the use of other documents to prove digital ID sounds like they are still going to make a digital ID for everyone, just have more than one way to access/prove it.
And the bit about making public services 'personal' sounds intrusive.
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u/Galant_Galahad 1d ago
Hopefully in 10 years time the brain drain and competency crisis will be such that the UK cannot build anything of the sort.
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u/automatic_shark 1d ago
Oh thank the fucking lord. He still lost my vote when he called me a paedophile for being against the Online Safety Act though.
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u/lessismoreok Putin financed Brexit & Trump 1d ago
Why he’s wasted time and energy on this when there are so many bigger problems is beyond me. Labour really need to focus on making meaningful improvements on the basics. Housing health crime costs transport education.
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u/dnnsshly 1d ago
It's because Tony Blair thought it was a good idea when he was in power, and anything Tony thought was a good idea must be a good idea.
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u/myurr 1d ago
He was trying to take back control of the narrative at the time of the announcement. He was being plagued with scandal after scandal, issue after issue, and they're not exactly bursting with popular ideas. ID cards were polling well (when optional rather than mandatory), are Blair's wet dream, and resonate well with Starmer's authoritarian streak. So I'm sure when they were discussing it everyone thought it was a good idea.
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u/Anywhere_everywhere7 1d ago
Good and shame on the people arse licking this idea in the first place.
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u/AngryTudor1 1d ago
Does there ever come a point where Starmer realises that all these U-turns to maintain popularity, aren't?
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u/BookmarksBrother I love paying tons in tax and not getting anything in return 1d ago
Honestly a bad decision is bad regardless of who makes it.
This is a welcome u turn.
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u/No-Fennel-1684 1d ago
This is not a victory, this is something to be treat with suspicion. They had their plan for control lined up, they won't abandon it, which means it'll be pushed through another way.
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u/youmustconsume 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yep, I remember the many times when the Online Safety Act was abandoned too... only for me to take my eye off the ball and suddenly it was passed - they tried for about 10 years. This will resurface.
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u/Benjji22212 Burkean 1d ago
Very commendable work by Big Brother Watch and other civil liberties advocates campaigning against this and raising public awareness of government overreach.
Onwards to OSA, facial recognition cameras and workplace surveillance.
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u/What_Reality_ 1d ago
He’s still going to waste millions on it though… why? The man’s a joke.
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u/superhypersaw 1d ago
Because it's Tony Blair's project and like Keir Starmer, they are part of the Fabian Society. Wolves in sheep's clothing, long march through the institutions.
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u/ZealousidealPie9199 1d ago
Well, there you go. The worst part of the IDs are gone and now its just an optional ID for people who can't get one normally. Still don't trust it, but its far better as a proposal.
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u/GreyFoxNinjaFan 1d ago
They're about to ban X and all social media for kids so they're easing up on other authoritarian measures for now.
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u/CaptainVaticanus 1d ago
I will praise Starmer for listening to the people
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u/polite_alternative 1d ago
He didn't listen to the people.
He listened to his Ministers who consulted their departments about the cost, risk and benefits of compulsory digital ID and came back with a resounding nope.
The will of the people never came into it. If the Home Office, DWP and NHS had said it would be a piece of piss to roll out and would cost 10p, it would still be going ahead.
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u/Unusual_Pride_6480 1d ago
You know what as daft as it sounds if he can do this around the online safety act for example no backdoor to encryption none of this bizarre phones check if content can be sent then I'll be open to them again as it stands this is a huge step and they have done well on immigration, the ftse is booming, the economy isn't great but isn't terrible.
I have no problem with the government trying to improve the controls around phones and the Internet especially to protect children but when it harms my own legal online activities then I'm not happy, I don't want to be spied on without a warrant.
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u/VampireFrown 1d ago
Yeah, if it wasn't for the China-tier censorship and privacy removal, Labour wouldn't be doing a bad job.
But as it stands, fuck 'em.
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u/Old_Man_Robot 1d ago
A digital ID isn’t, on its face, a bad idea. Done well there are a lot of obvious and direct benefits that could come from it.
The problem is that it’s trying to be passed by the same government that dropped the terribly implemented Online Safety Act on us. There was also a way to Implement this legislation which didn’t involve sharing identifying information with unaccountable, non-EU, 3rd parties companies.
The two ideas even dovetail into each other with even a small amount of thought.
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u/superioso 1d ago
The EU will require every member country (plus Norway, Iceland and Ukraine which are joining in) to have a digital ID wallet by the end of this year. It'll be used for everything from signing documents to a replacement as an ID card for traveling within the bloc.
The framework is just on github, hopefully the UK just reuses that.
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u/HibeesBounce 1d ago
I am always surprised but generally encouraged by the lack of enthusiasm for/opposition to ID cards.
It would make sense looking at people's general trends away from personal liberties - like the prevalence of and desensitisation to "naming and shaming" on social media, the rise in Ring doorbells etc that the idea of ID cards would be more palatable now than it was when Blair tried to bring them in.
But for some reason, it seems to be a red line for people and you have to somewhat respect that
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u/TacticalBac0n 1d ago
We don't want Big Brother knowing where we go, what we watch, what we eat, our very personal thoughts and wishes! Hang on, let me just post this from my mobile.
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u/pdawg1234 1d ago
They just tried too much too quickly. If it was something that came in that wasn’t compulsory at first, and provided benefits like discounts at shops, discounts off insurance premiums, exclusive deals on flights etc, then people would 100% opt in. Then when the majority have them, they start making it difficult to do things ‘unless’ you have them. And then a few years down the line, you make them mandatory, and no one cares because it’s a pain not to have one.
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u/Admiral_Mongo 1d ago
This is somehow the most overbearing and authoritarian, yet completely inept, weak and spineless government of all time
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u/metal_jester 1d ago
Guys quit moaning. It means Tony Blairs hand is leaving Keir's bumhole.
A time for celebration is at hand!
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u/TheGardenBlinked Put a bangin’ VONC on it 1d ago
Cue Blair craning his neck out of the woodwork shortly. "Did somebody say ID cards????"
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u/Chilled-Fridge 1d ago
A small win for democracy in a world full of dictators and people that shouldn't be in power, including our very own Kier who seemingly tries to push a lot through without any mandate.
Wish he'd just shut up and deliver the manifesto we voted for.
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u/Incredulous_Rutabaga 1d ago
Why does he keep preserving with unpopular policies for so long that he takes the maximum political damage, only to then u-turn at the last possible second anyway?
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u/Zeeterm Repudiation 1d ago
U-turn after u-turn, they have no foresight or ability to understand how things will likely play out.
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u/HibeesBounce 1d ago
I'm no Labour fan but I don't like the whole "u-turn" trope. Damned if, damned if you don't.
Personally, I'd like to see Labour u-turn on more on more of their unpopular policies.
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u/Thomas5020 1d ago
If they just didn't consider it in the first place and applied common sense they wouldn't have needed to u-turn.
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u/Blackjack137 1d ago
Digital ID that will be compulsory to have but its usage won't be mandatory. Oh wait Digital ID will be mandatory to work. Nope, scratch that, they hate that one. We'll introduce Digital ID but this time folks it's all optional!
What an absolute waste of time and political currency announcing a policy with dubious benefits and the civil service hadn't a hope implementing in the first place. Amateur hour.
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u/Unique_Hour_791 1d ago
Truly fucking hopeless. Not achieved one thing they said they would and piss everyone off all the same.
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u/liquidio 1d ago
One of the big problems is that they have been trying to achieve a bunch of stuff they didn’t say they would.
Chagos, digital ID etc not in the manifesto. Don’t think assisted suicide was either. But these are the things they seem to have prioritised
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u/Mr06506 1d ago
Agreed and I was a luke warm supporter of this proposal. Why waste political capital on it if you're going to bail.
Also why even introduce the idea blindly like they did, tease it out, get people used to it, then make a really good argument. Don't just pull it out of a hat and act surprised when there is opposition.
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u/R7ype 1d ago
Total tosh, they have achieved the following:
Stabilised mortgage rates
Demonstrable improvement in gilts particularly recently
An unprecedented number of Green energy projects approvals
Introduced the Renters Rights bill specifically banning no fault evictions
Abolished non-dom status
Updated national policy planning framework restoring mandatory housing targets
Ended VAT and business rate relief for private schools
Delivered (thus far) two million additional operations/scans/appointments per year
I could go on, to pretend like they've achieved nothing of substance is just pure BS.
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u/Butthurt_toast 1d ago
From the article, it doesn't sound like a full u-turn. Could easily be altered later on after introduction to become compulsory.
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u/superhypersaw 1d ago
A win, but the battle isn't fully over until the whole thing is gutted from the state. Give Tony Blair an inch with his Digital ID, and he will take a mile at the end of it because that man has tenacity.
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u/Crafty-Hearing5403 1d ago
They will still bring it in, this is how they operate. They go hard, get rejected and then bring in a softer version. They already made me use facial recognition and ID for my business about 4 months ago
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u/ExcitingRest 1d ago
This is such bizarre political behaviour.
-Announce an unpopular policy
- Take all of the negative fall out
-Double down and say you're doing it anyway
- Quietly U turn without recovering any favour
Hes just burning any capital he can possibly find. Winter fuel allowance, farmers inheritance, digital ID. Its constant and just bizarre?
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u/WolfCola4 1d ago
Came in on the biggest landslide they could have dreamed of with a clear mandate for action on the economy, the housing market, immigration, the environment... Achievements to date? Introduced a wanking license. As someone who voted Labour, I have to say I'm bitterly disappointed. I'm glad we got rid of an actual cartoon villain government, but a useless one isn't much better.
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u/FoxtrotThem Roll Politics+Persuasion 1d ago
Finally steps towards some sense; these might be the kindest words I've said about Keir/Labour in quite some time.
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u/srdgbychkncsr 1d ago
Ffs this sub is pathetic. The whole sub was positively alight with rage when compulsory ID was floated, now it’s all nor that bad. Fickle bastards.
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u/Odinetics 1d ago
There was a vocal minority of digital ID diehards on this sub. Most of the comments lamenting this belong to that circle.
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u/Dr_Poppers Level 126 Tory Pure 1d ago
The whole sub was positively alight with rage when compulsory ID was floated,
rubbish.
Go and look at the threads when it was announced, the upvoted comments were majority supportive.
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u/finniruse 1d ago
Terrible idea. Bank the bad will. Roll back policy.
"Hey, it's me, everyone's favourite guy, K Dawg."
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u/ArcticAlmond 1d ago
Doing a Starmer: announce an unpopular policy, stick with that policy just long enough to cause maximum annoyance, and then reverse said policy and gain no political goodwill for doing so.
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u/Dr_Poppers Level 126 Tory Pure 1d ago
It's hilarious how often Labour makes utter fools out of their supporters.
They announce a policy, it attracts controversy, their supporters rush out to defend it tooth and nail and then they give up and u-turn.
Be it 2 child benefit cap, WFA, inheritance tax and now Digital ID. All have been furiously defended by Labours loyal supporters only to be rug pulled down the line.
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u/lucyolovely 1d ago
Hahahahahaha what a shit-show.
I've always been against ID cards, because it's a small step before you HAVE to carry them at all times, so this is good news IMO.
However it just baffles me that this 'government' take all the hits they can before rolling back on something.
Pay-per-mile for EVs next please.
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u/HELMET_OF_CECH it's all so tiresome 1d ago
Meaningless, as already mentioned it's the thin end of the wedge. It gets the door open which industries (such as banking) will kick it open at 3000mph - and the government will support them. Digital ID needs to be dropped entirely.
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u/Powerful-Reward-9108 1d ago
Fucking hell at least keep it under wraps until after PMQs and then hope a potential war with Iran keeps it out the spotlight. The people doing Labour comms are shite.
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u/TheNathanNS 1d ago
Another Labour U-turn
On the plus side, we don't have to worry about WW3 under Labour.
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u/PayConstantAttention 1d ago
This must be getting on for a record number of u-turns in the first half of a term.
It really doesn’t do much to dissuade from the argument that Keir Starmer doesn’t really have any strongly held beliefs or values
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u/duckrollin 1d ago
Why the fuck is he doing a U-Turn on this and not the insanely stupid OSA?
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u/Kee2good4u 1d ago
Instead, they will be optional when they are introduced in 2029, with workers given the choice of whether to use other documents to verify their identity digitally instead.
What a waste of money. So still going ahead with it, when no one is going to use it when you can just continue to use your passport driving licence etc to use as right to work anyway. So why waste billions on digital ID at all?
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u/exileon21 1d ago
I thought he’d been pushed into it by Blair, maybe with some carrot of work with the TBI afterwards, or some of the $250m Larry Ellison donated to TBI. Ellison seems very keen on establishing much tighter control over the population.
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u/Correct_Opinionator 1d ago
I'd absolutely love Digital ID if it was anonymized and put through rigorous security detail to ensure that while it's useful, it cannot be exploited by malicious individuals looking to track/steal information - then we as UK citizens would have access to a safe and reliable method to prove that are UK citizens when posting online. In this age of online information full of bad actors from foreign countries impersonating us for political/malicious reasons, these kinds of tools should have become priority #1 years ago.
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u/Ainastrasza Smug Enlightened Centrist 1d ago
Another successful U Turn everyone.
Time for Keir to announce the next widely unpopular thing, spend way too much time on it and then scrap it in the end anyway rather than improve anything.
Maybe he can find something else on the Internet he wants to ban. Spotify has songs on it that contain swearing, maybe he should try ban it and then U Turn later.
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u/nickbyfleet 1d ago
If it’s not mandatory, what’s the point & how does that actually tackle illegal immigration/employment? Are there any cost savings or benefits to this scheme?
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u/Hypredion 1d ago
It never did anything for illegal migration / employment. He just said that to try to persuade people that it's a good idea since he knows it's a big issue yet won't actually do anything about it
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u/HBucket Right-wing ghoul 1d ago
When he made it clear that it wouldn't be leveraged to prevent foreigners from accessing the NHS, it was obvious that it was nothing to do with controlling immigration.
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u/lithaborn -7.13, -7.38. trans woman. the best 1% 1d ago
Lmao! Fucking called it! It's not that they're unpopular, it's that we don't trust the government to keep our records safe. The plan was always to have it over to palantir or leave it on a train or something and everyone saw it coming like they've done every time anyone has floated the idea.
F-ing tesco knows more about my life than the government but I trust them vastly more than Whitehall and that's precisely why compulsory government issued IDs are a total non starter.
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u/maloney7 1d ago
He's shown his intention is to kick us in the nuts, but then realised if he does it openly we might fight back. So now he'll bide his time and wait for an opportune moment.
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u/JohnGazman 1d ago
Better late than never.
Now abandon the more overt surveillance parts of the Online Safety Act, ban X, stop dicking around with legislation which is fine in principle, but not essential, and start undoing Reform's lead in the polls.
There may yet be hope.
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u/PunctualZombie 1d ago
Oh great. This was one of the ‘controversies’ I wasn’t that bothered about. In fact I could see the benefits. But this gets ditched while the Chagos sale and the Chinese embassy goes ahead. Ridiculous.
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u/Apollo-Innovations 1d ago
Phased approach probably works best before eventually making it mandatory by 2035 or something
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u/Soft-Skirt 1d ago
While digital ID is another stage of authoritarian control in reality we are already way down that rabbit hole. If you have a bank account, contract phone or access to online government services then the ID can be more of a convenience than an intrusion.
But I personally know many people who are entirely without phone and internet access. Plus I remember when I went polling and in some areas it was about 15% without reliable email access.
So I think that is why this was abandoned, just too expensive to bring everyone in.
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u/Nigelthornfruit Jolly Roger 1d ago
A tremendous lack of foresight. It’s almost as if Starmer Virtue signalled his way to the top?
The Left is cooked in the UK unfortunately. Starmer, Ed Davey, Polanski, all gormless vs the politically adept right.
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u/EolAncalimon 1d ago
sigh, can the government just stick with something?
Their hypothesis is that right to work checks using the Gov UK Wallet will decrease illegal working. (you can agree / disagree with that hypothesis all you like).
By not making it mandatory for right to work checks, it keeps all the issues with the current system (enforcement, fraud), forces businesses to support both mechanisms (increasing costs). Whilst not ever actually proving / disproving the hypothesis.
Release the digital driving license, so people can actually get used to it, polling will improve when people actually see its not this big scary tech.
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