Plans for a new nationwide digital ID system in the United Kingdom are triggering widespread public concern — and some critics, including far-right political figures, are amplifying fears with unproven claims that the scheme is designed to increase government control.
Opponents allege the digital ID will store information about vaccination status, carbon footprints, and could ultimately restrict people’s access to travel, food, and other essentials — claims the government has repeatedly denied.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in September that the digital ID would be rolled out by 2029. It will not be mandatory, officials say, but will be needed to prove the right to work.
However, the rollout has been met with intense backlash.
Far-right figures fuel misinformation
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party, claimed on GB News that medical data would soon be added to the ID system and that unvaccinated people would be treated as “second-class citizens.”
Another GB News commentator, Dr. Renee Hoenderkamp, warned viewers:
“Step out of line, say something they don’t like and they will switch you off: no travel, no car, no spending, no life.”
A UK government spokesperson dismissed these claims outright.
“None of these claims have any factual basis. Digital ID will not be compulsory, and it will not be a crime not to have one.”
The spokesperson added that the ID will actually give users more control over their data and help them access public services more easily.
Public backlash grows
Despite government assurances, the plan remains highly controversial in the UK — one of the few European nations without national ID cards, and where civil liberty concerns have long shaped public opinion.
Opposition parties are against the proposal, and public support has fallen sharply.
A More in Common survey from late September showed:
- 45% opposed to digital ID
- 31% in favour, down from 53% support in late 2024
Nearly three million people have signed a petition opposing the plan, triggering a parliamentary debate scheduled for December 8.
Silkie Carlo, director of civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, said:
“This is not a fringe issue. Concerns are shared across mainstream politics.”
Misinformation spreads on social media
TikTok creators have circulated AI-generated videos depicting massive anti–digital ID protests in London — garnering millions of views despite real on-ground demonstrations being relatively small.
Some opponents, many of whom were involved in anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine activism, continue to frame digital ID as a path toward authoritarianism.
Posts have falsely linked the UK digital ID plan to scenes from China’s Covid-era restrictions, including an image of schoolchildren lined up for QR code testing, captioned: “What happens when you say no?”
Prominent conspiracy theorist David Icke, who previously called Covid a “hoax,” joined a London march against digital ID in October. The rally drew hundreds and was organised by law student Fiona Hine, known for her role in earlier anti-lockdown protests.
Hine told AFP:
“This is entirely about freedom. Nothing should be imposed on us.”
She repeated conspiratorial narratives claiming that an international “elite” — including Tony Blair and Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum — are pushing the system to turn people into “robots and worker bees for the government.”
Critics urge government to address vacuum of information
Ryan Wain of the Tony Blair Institute warned that the government must clearly explain the purpose and limits of digital ID:
“If it doesn’t make a broad case, a vacuum is left — and that vacuum is filled by people who assume the worst.”
