Starmer lays out vision for much-criticised digital ID scheme | Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer has laid out his vision for digital identities as he battles to win back public support for the plan.
The Prime Minister’s digital identity plan was met with criticism when it was announced last month and was described as a symptom of the “reverse Midas touch”.
Concerns were raised about civil liberties and cybersecurity, but Starmer insisted identification would never be needed when entering hospital following fears about its potential impact on access to public services and data protection.
He told staff at the Barclays branch in Brighton on Thursday that a digital ID would “really help” with the security of customers, who told him they deal with victims of scams and scams every day.
He said customers at the bank told him they were “really excited about it” and cited “everyday examples where you can just cut the crap out.”
He also told the BBC: “You’ll never need ID to get into hospital or anything like that. And for people who don’t want it, they don’t need it except for the right to work, because to do that we need to stop people working illegally in our country.”
He said “that would not be the case” where a digital ID could be used for surveillance.
“The idea of having an identity on your phone is not that different from having bank accounts on your phone or other apps that people have on their phones,” he said.
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More than 2.9 million people signed a petition against the measures, according to polling by More in Common, and net support for digital ID cards fell from 35% to -14% at the beginning of the summer following Starmer’s announcement in September.
The government believes digital IDs can be issued to every British citizen and legal resident; So even those without a passport or driver’s license can open a bank account, get a job or apply for a mortgage, allowing people to prove who they are digitally rather than submitting physical documents or paying for special verification services.
Peter Hyman, a former adviser to Starmer and Tony Blair, told an event during the Labor Party conference in Liverpool that the plans would be “without water” in six months because ministers had failed to make a convincing case for them.
Hyman said opponents of the plan had gone “ahead” and Downing Street should enlist social media influencers to “dispel all objections” and respond to proliferating conspiracy theories to save the policy.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said: “Keir Starmer is trying to put lipstick on a very expensive pig. Relaunching this scheme for the second time this month will not change the fact that it is intrusive, expensive and unnecessary.”
