Early day motion · EDM 2012 · 13 Oct 2025

Digital ID

Tabled by Siân Berry (Green Party) 34 signatures

The motion

That this House strongly condemns the Government's plans to introduce a mandatory digital ID scheme; notes that after being used in World War 2 compulsory ID cards were abolished in 1952 because of the widespread sentiment that they are fundamentally at odds with British values and civil liberties; believes that sentiment was true then and is true today; further believes any mandatory ID scheme would fundamentally reverse the nature of citizens' relationship with the state and risk turning Britain into a checkpoint society; is deeply concerned such a scheme would usher in a new era of mass surveillance that would enable a range of other privacy violations, put vast troves of sensitive personal data at high risk of cyberattacks and data breaches and contribute to the digital exclusion of marginalised groups; further notes that a majority of the UK public do not trust the Government to keep digital ID data secure; and calls on the Government to scrap their compulsory ID card proposals.