Hmmm… people can’t have it both ways though. Want to get better control over black market employment? You need some kind of national ID system.
I'm not opposed to the idea, but I have concerns that every citizen will have their details in an online database. Yes, it will be secure, but it will be a constant target for cybercrime. It will need people to access it and people are the weak link in any cyber security leak.
They managed to hack the criminal justice system’s state aid database so this is a very valid concern…
Won't make hardly any difference at all to illegal working. Massive slippery slope imo, down the line it'll be law that you have to present it whenever asked by a police officer. "Papers please". Wouldn't surprise me if it never got through either. None of the other major parties will support it and I could see another rebellion within labour itself. It's also really daft politically, this will push more people away from labour and won't impact migration enough to win those over who consider that their main issue.
I'm quite happy for Labour to keep shooting themselves in the foot as I want them out of office ASAP.
I'm delighted to see MPs as varied as Jeremy Corbyn and Rupert Lowe, as well as some Labour MPs, are already opposing this. I desperately hope it's voted down, or at least delayed long enough for the next government to stop it being implemented. I don't see any reason why this would do anything about black market employment. Employers are already required to check people are eligible to work in the UK before they employ them and we already have various things issued by the government (passports, driving licences, National Insurance numbers, other voluntary forms of ID) to allow that to happen. If employers ignore that requirement now this won't make any difference. What it will do is fundamentally change the relationship between the state and the public. The police will certainly have an absolute right to stop anyone at any time and demand to see their ID. Other state officials may too. Then you hit the slippery slope. Look at what's been happening with the Online Safety Act. It's really not too much of stretch to imagine the government forcing internet providers to log the details of your ID whenever you use the internet. Obviously this will be "to protect children". As an added bonus, they can see which websites you access. Watching Saints games on a dodgy stream may not look like a good option any more. Then it becomes a requirement for shops and cinemas to record details of your ID whenever you go to see an age-restricted film or buy things like alcohol or cigarettes. Again, this will be so the government can "protect children". Then you need to present it whenever you stay in a hotel or use a train or a bus. For "security reasons". I'm sure stadiums and other venues will also start requiring it when you buy tickets for concerts or sporting events. Security again. Then your ID gets logged every time you buy something ("Who cares? We already have to do this to buy alcohol or Taylor Swift tickets.") Before long the government has a complete record of everything you buy and everywhere you buy it. And of course that's without the already-mentioned danger of large government databases and leaks. Not long ago there was a leak of data relating to spies and the SAS. If they can't protect them then the average person has no chance.
And who do you imagine replacing them? Be careful what you wish for as we are on the edge of a Trumpian nightmare.
Exactly. Not to mention how more nefarious government could use it. Frozen bank account if you attend an anti government protest? Extreme example sure but not at all beyond the realms of possibility.
And you'd have an absolute right to completely blank them and carry on with your day. Not obliged to provide them with anything.
Completely possible. I'm sure the Canadian government did something like that after the trucker protests a couple of years ago.
