Digital ID cards could create a digital surveillance infrastructure that will change everyone’s daily lives.

In September 2025, the UK Government announced that everyone in the UK should have mandatory Digital ID cards to prove their right to work. This proposal is a costly folly, both for the country’s balance sheet and our human rights.

Destined for Failure

The writing is already on the wall for what Digital IDs have in store for us. We need look no further than the shambles that is the eVisa scheme. These are the lessons the government must learn:

Checking someone’s identity against a database in ‘real-time’ makes the scheme vulnerable to Internet outages and system failures. Making our lives contingent on a Digital ID means people could lose jobs, mortgage offers, access to treatment or benefits as a result of errors within the system.

People will face a bureaucratic nightmare when trying to correct the data that government departments and agencies hold about them.

Digital ID cards can contribute to coercive behaviour and domestic violence. For example, abusers will be able to prevent someone from getting a job by denying them access to their digital ID.

Many people have accessibilty issues that prevent them from using a digital ID card. The scheme will further marginalise working older people, disabled people and those who are vulnerable.