The Liberal Democrats have always stood up to defend civil liberties against government overreach. We have consistently led the opposition to plans to bring in mandatory ID cards. 

The British public has consistently rejected mandatory ID proposals over the decades - and the Liberal Democrats are proud to have led the charge on this against Tony Blair’s government in the 2000s. The party campaigned against their introduction two decades ago because they were expensive, unnecessary and a huge threat to people’s privacy. We fought against Labour’s plans for ID cards, and we won. We once again stand ready to oppose Labour’s push for mandatory ID cards.

The Liberal Democrats have also long called for the scrapping of the Voter ID scheme - another deeply unfair policy that disenfranchises countless voters.

As stated by Victoria Collins MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology, ‘people shouldn’t be turned into criminals just because they can’t have a digital ID, or chose not to. This will be especially worrying to millions of older people, people living in poverty and disabled people - who are more likely to be digitally excluded’.

Digital tools should be about giving individuals more control over their personal data, not giving the government more control over our lives. I do not believe that what the country needs now is to waste time and money developing a massive new centralised government database of everyone’s private information. The case hasn't been made as to any benefits that might justify the cost and threat to people's privacy.

This scheme is set to cost the taxpayer billions. If the government really wants to restore public trust in the immigration system, it could spend this money on Nightingale processing centres - as the Liberal Democrats have called for - to clear the asylum backlog, and still have lots left over to improve public services.

The Liberal Democrats are clear that a mandatory digital ID system would cross a red line. It risks eroding long-held civil liberties while doing little to address the Government’s stated aims of immigration enforcement. We are collecting signatures on a petition to show the government the strength of public opposition to these plans. You can add your name here: https://www.libdems.org.uk/nodigitalid.

Rest assured, I and my Liberal Democrat colleagues will continue to oppose the imposition of mandatory digital IDs, stand up for people’s freedom and privacy, and defend civil liberties against government overreach.