And so the UK’s Digital ID is official. Not legal, no laws have been passed, not even real in the sense it exists at all. But it is official, with the full backing of the Labour Government.
I have talked and written extensively and at length about the planned rollout of Digital ID, the many and varied uses of Digital ID and the pervasive danger to liberty posed by Digital ID. They have pitched it as a solution to every problem, it has been on the agenda for twenty years.
The official announcement is, possibly, the least surprising news there has ever been.
And yet, suddenly, I find myself doubting the sincerity.
Let me explain.
Imagine you’re watching a movie — a mystery thriller or whodunit — and as the story progresses you’re assessing clues and forming your theories. You have a suspect, you think you know who the bad guy is going to be.
Then, about halfway through, you start doubting yourself. There’s too much evidence. The movie seems to be making it too obvious, the main characters are openly accusing your chosen suspect and there’s still an hour left. You start asking…is he the fake-out villain? Will the twist be he was wrongly accused?
After an odd two weeks, that’s where I find myself with digital ID. I’m genuinely beginning to think they might just…not.
I’m seeing resistance from quarters I wouldn’t expect, and I’m suddenly questioning the narrative.
Members of Parliament are opposing it, from every singleparty including Labour. Labour mayors are likewise against it.
Every single party in Northern Ireland is against it as well, with the First Minister calling it “ill-thought out and ludicrous”.
Articles and letters critical of the scheme are appearing in papers across the spectrum from the Telegraph to the Guardian to The Sun.
Labour Ministers, and Keir Starmer himself, are being challenged in TV interviews – with pertinent, reasonable questions. That never happens unless someone powerful wants it to happen. It CAN’T happen by accident, because interviews are discussed and questions vetted beforehand.
A petition against the plan allegedly gained over a million signatures in 24 hours.
It’s at nearly three million now.
Somebody created this 30-foot tall sand art of Sir Keir, and the police were dispatched to remove it:
Maybe there’s a bait-and-switch coming.
It might be the reaction to Digital ID will be such a defeat for Starmer that he resigns, perhaps causing a new general election, leading to a Reform win and Nigel Farage as Prime Minister. That seemed crazy a few years ago, but I can’t shake the idea now.
It’s also possible that the UK will be used as a “control group” on Digital ID.
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