UK Digital ID Plan Sparks Public Backlash as Far-Right Figures Amplify Unproven Claims
Plans for a new nationwide digital ID system in the UK are generating widespread public concern, while some critics — including far-right politicians — are intensifying fears with unsubstantiated allegations that the scheme will expand government control over people’s lives.
Opponents warn that the digital ID will store information on vaccinations and carbon footprints and could restrict access to air travel or even food — claims the government has emphatically denied.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in September that the ID card would be introduced by 2029. According to the government, the system will not be mandatory, but it will be required to prove the right to work.
Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform Party, claimed on GB News that medical data would soon be added, arguing that unvaccinated people would be treated as “second-class citizens.”
“Step out of line, say something they don’t like, and they will switch you off — no travel, no car, no spending, no life,” said Renee Hoenderkamp, a doctor and commentator on the right-wing channel.
A UK government spokesperson told AFP: “None of these claims have any factual basis. We have been clear: digital ID will not be compulsory, and it will not be a crime not to have one. Digital ID will give people more control over how their data is used and ensure everyone can access the public services they need.”
The proposal remains highly controversial in the UK — one of the few European countries without a national ID card, where the idea has historically faced strong resistance. Major opposition parties also oppose the plan.
Public support dropped sharply after Starmer’s announcement. A September survey by the think tank More in Common found that 45 percent of people opposed the scheme and 31 percent backed it — down from 53 percent support in late 2024.
Nearly three million people have signed a petition against the proposal, prompting a debate in Westminster Hall on December 8.
“This is not a fringe issue. It is a mainstream political issue with concerns shared at the highest levels,” said Silkie Carlo, director of civil liberties organisation Big Brother Watch, who addressed MPs on the matter.
Ryan Wain, executive director for politics and policy at the Tony Blair Institute, told AFP that the government needs to “make a broader case” for digital ID, which Blair has long supported.
“Otherwise, a vacuum is left,” he warned — a space that he says is being filled by those “whose default is to assume the worst of good intentions.”
‘It will be like China’
On TikTok, creators have posted AI-generated videos showing massive demonstrations against digital ID in central London, racking up millions of views, despite the fact that real-world protests have remained relatively small.
Many opponents previously took part in campaigns against Covid-19 restrictions and now link digital ID to those measures. One widely shared post featured an image of Chinese kindergarten students lined up with QR codes for Covid testing in 2022, captioned: “What happens when you say no?”
Conspiracy theorist David Icke — who once called Covid a “hoax” — joined a march against digital ID in London in October. Hundreds attended the demonstration, organised by law student Fiona Hine, who had been arrested at anti-lockdown protests.
“This is entirely about freedom and freedom of choice — nothing should be imposed on us,” Hine told AFP.
Digital ID has been a recurring theme at past anti-lockdown rallies, where protesters argued it would make the UK “like China” and signal the rise of an authoritarian state, said Özgé Özduzen, a lecturer in digital media at Sheffield University.
Echoing common conspiracy narratives, Hine claimed the digital ID is part of a plan by an international “elite” — including Tony Blair and World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab — who allegedly want people to become “robots and worker bees for the government.”
Source: AFP
