To ID card or not to ID card, that is the question

Former prime minister Tony Blair's ID cards failed in the 2000s - could Sir Keir Starmer's version fare better? Tim Holmes, a senior lecturer in criminology and policing at Bangor University, assesses the latest state of play

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THE UK Government is once again looking at the possibility of introducing identity cards, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing plans for a new scheme for all UK citizens.

The argument is familiar. With tougher ID systems, illegal immigration would be harder and the UK less appealing. But it also raises a familiar set of questions. How would such a scheme work? And what lessons are there to be learned from the last time the UK had ID cards?

Identity cards were compulsory during the Second World War, but the system was scrapped in 1952 after growing unease about police powers and civil liberties.

Fifty years later, Tony Blair's Labour government proposed new biometric ID cards backed by a national database. Ministers claimed they would help tackle terrorism, illegal immigration and identity theft while giving people secure access to public services.

At the time, terrorism, illegal immigration and identity theft were major concerns. The 9/11 bombers had avoided detection in the US, 23 illegal immigrants had died while cockle-picking in Morecambe Bay in 2004 and people were increasingly falling victim to online fraud and identity theft.

In 2006 the Identity Cards Act was introduced. The scheme would introduce cards for citizens with new biometric security features and data stored on a national database. Eventually, whether you wanted a card or not, you could not function in UK society without one.