Digital ID cards are supported by the public, according to a poll for The Times Crime and Justice Commission.
The More in Common survey found that 53 per cent of people are in favour of a universal digital identification system, with 25 per cent strongly in favour, while only 19 per cent are against it. There is a clear majority among the supporters of all four main political parties and across all ages.
The poll comes as six former home secretaries urged the government to introduce digital ID to drive efficiency in the public sector, cut fraud and tackle illegal immigration.
Sir John Major, the former Conservative prime minister, also told the commission that he had changed his mind and now supported the policy.
“I was once opposed to this but am not any more,” he said. “I think you can be identified by so many things now. You use a credit card or a phone and the police can find out where you are or what you’re doing. The proposal to introduce identity cards used to sound like an overbearing state, but no longer. I think the time for digital ID has probably come.”
Sir Tony Blair, the former Labour prime minister, and Lord Hague of Richmond, the former Conservative leader, have previously backed universal digital identification. Blair introduced legislation to bring in compulsory ID cards when he was prime minister but the scheme was scrapped by the coalition government.
• Tony Blair: My advice to Keir Starmer
The poll found that more than two thirds of Tory voters backed the introduction of digital ID cards, compared with 12 per cent who opposed it. Sixty per cent of those who voted Labour at the last election were in favour of the policy and 15 per cent were against it. Among Liberal Democrats, 54 per cent supported the idea compared with 16 per cent who did not. For Reform, the split was 59 per cent in favour and 21 per cent opposed.
There is particularly strong support among so-called Loyal Nationals, the segment of the electorate which best represents red-wall voters who are a key target group for the political parties. Of these, 63 per cent backed the introduction of digital ID cards and 17 per cent opposed it.
Luke Tryl, the UK director of More in Common, said: “For lots of people digital ID cards just seem like common sense, they’d make life easier for them and make it easier to tackle illegal behaviour and catch criminals. That combination of ease and greater safety far outweighs any concerns about privacy. In fact, the truth is that Brits are consistently more authoritarian on questions of civil liberties than most politicians realise.”
Lord Blunkett, who as home secretary first outlined plans for a national ID card in 2003, said technology meant the system could now be digital rather than physical. “I’m in favour of some form of up-to-date verifiable identity,” he told the commission. “We should be able to find out by whatever means who people are who are perpetrating or inciting crime. It seems to me a no-brainer.”
Charles Clarke, who took over from Blunkett at the Home Office, said an identity scheme would keep the country safer, adding: “If you can identify people and find out who they are, then that inhibits criminality.”
Alan Johnson, a home secretary under Gordon Brown, described digital ID as “absolutely crucial” to protect national security and tackle illegal immigration. He added: “Apart from Ireland we’re the only country in Europe without an ID card. If you want to come to a country illegally and disappear into the system with no one finding you, come to Britain or Ireland because they are the only places where you don’t have an ID card to prove and protect your identity. It’s crazy. It’s going to happen.”
• Do digital IDs work? The nation with one card for everything
Amber Rudd, who ran the Home Office between 2016 and 2018, said she had concluded that introducing a digital ID was “the right thing to do”. She added: “I’ve come to the view that it’s so ubiquitous, that we give our ID to everybody. I think it would certainly make it easier for immigration enforcement and for policing so I hope it would make us safer.”
Lord Clarke of Nottingham, who was home secretary under Major, said he was “strongly in favour” of ID cards, whether physical or digital. “You have no prospect of controlling immigration without an identity card,” he said. “We have this ancient hang-up about identity cards, it all goes back to the Second World War — somehow we showed what a free country we were because we were the only developed country that didn’t have an identity card system. It’s farcical. What on earth are you objecting to if it’s accurate? There’s no rational argument against it.”
Jack Straw, the home secretary between 1997 and 2001, said he had been “sceptical” when in government but was now convinced. He said: “What’s changed among many other things is the ubiquity of digital ID systems, and our wallets and handbags including digital ones are full of ID — so what’s the problem with the government providing one more piece of ID?”
Sir Keir Starmer has promised to “rewire” Whitehall and transform the delivery of public services through technology. Peter Kyle, the science, innovation and technology secretary, is planning a significant expansion of government digital services over the next year, designed to empower citizens and make it more convenient for individuals to interact with the state.
People will be able to verify their identity online securely through a government portal. Paper-based transactions will gradually be replaced by digital processes.
Although there is no plan for a compulsory digital ID, the system will be universally available and could become essential for accessing public services. Kyle has his sights set on introducing digital driving licences possibly as soon as next year.
Jake Richards, the Labour MP for Rother Valley, said there was a groundswell of support for digital ID among the new cohort of Labour MPs. “It’s about the citizen taking back control of their own data and public services,” he said.
The Data (Use and Access) Bill, which is currently going through parliament, sets out a legislative framework for digital identification systems, allowing providers to become certified against rules on privacy, security and inclusion.
The Tony Blair Institute has calculated that a universal digital ID system would cost about £1 billion to set up and an estimated £100 million a year to run. There would be about £2 billion a year in fiscal benefits, including around £1.25 billion saving on welfare fraud, according to the analysis.
