Introducing mandatory ID cards will threaten the civil liberties of minorities in the UK

With the next general election fast approaching, the Labour Party have been working to prove they have the answer to the rising channel crisis. Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock, believes the resolution lies in introducing mandatory national ID cards, arguing it would prove “we have control of our borders” and provide figures on exactly who is living in Britain.

This isn’t the first time the Labour party have sought to introduce mandatory ID cards. Tony Blair ran a similar but unsuccessful campaign back in 2006 in a hope to counter extremism and reduce illegal channel crossing. However, the scheme was largely perceived as a threat to civil liberties and resulted in public protests calling for a stop to what was then deemed ‘the database state’.

Now over two decades later, public attention toward the privacy and ownership of our personal data has only grown. Government use of citizen records has been seen by many as a breach to personal freedoms.

''For some, mandatory national ID cards may sound uncontroversial and will do little to alter their daily lives. But for minority groups, a small piece of plastic also allows for the questioning of your right to be in the country you call home. And that questioning, as the stop and search numbers show, can be constant, violent and deeply traumatic.''

Last month, the advocacy group Rights and Security International (RSI) found the UK government’s Prevent strategy to be in breach of legal data practises under the European Commission of Human Rights, stating that the Home Office had failed to provide adequate reasoning as to how their collection of data was actually countering terrorism.

An identification scheme would therefore only further intensify the feeling of constant surveillance and the lack of individual consent.

UK Identification programmes which are already in place, show how schemes can move beyond the parameters they were originally set up for. For instance, National Insurance numbers were initially created to ‘protect working people against loss of income relating to sickness or unemployment’, but are today they are used for tax purposes and right to work checks. It demonstrates how Labour’s proposed plan could easily navigate to even more insidious purposes.

Britain has repeatedly rejected the idea of ID cards largely due to their expense and general ineffectiveness at controlling illegal channel crossing. However, what cannot be overlooked is the real threat to the immigrant communities that reside in the UK, as they are among the groups least likely to own an ID card, but will also be some of most likely to be challenged to prove their identity.

The nature of the scheme would also greatly impact second generation immigrants who will continuously have their nationalities brought in to question, despite for many, this being their first and only home.

All of this would undoubtedly also add fuel the fire when it comes to the toxic discourse surrounding asylum seekers.

A betrayal

For the immigrant working-class communities who have always been the foundation for a red wall, Labour is beginning to lean further into the policies that work against them. The same party which once defined itself by standing for all working-class citizens, can no longer reach minority voters in the same capacity they once held so strongly.

On the surface, identification schemes are presented to us as a means of protection and security, but in reality, it will only infringe on the freedoms of minorities who are already vulnerable to policing powers. It would lead to heightened anxieties for those who regularly face oppression under stop and search laws.

Just this year, published government figures showed widespread racial disparities between ethnic groups who were stopped and searched. With Black people being stopped at a rate ‘6.2 times higher than that of those from a white ethnic group’, and Asian people at a rate ‘2.1 times higher.’

For some, mandatory national ID cards may sound uncontroversial and will do little to alter their daily lives. But for minority groups, a small piece of plastic also allows for the questioning of your right to be in the country you call home. And that questioning, as the stop and search numbers show, can be constant, violent and deeply traumatic.

The most vulnerable of British society, including those facing homelessness and addiction, are statistically far less likely to own any form of photo ID. Whilst ID schemes rely on many already holding a passport, a 2011 Census poll found that 9.5 million Britons did not. Applications can invoke difficult costs and require a proof of address and access to a bank account, which some people lack, creating additional barriers alongside those that already exist. This places major obstacles in the way of gaining equal access to what would become vital legal documentation.

These concerns were raised last year after Boris Johnson attempted to roll out voter ID cards in time for the next election, despite previously saying he would “physically eat” his ID card if he was ever required to show it. The policy proposal followed the single conviction of “personation fraud” during the 2019 general election. It also led to major public protests claiming voter suppression tactics similar to that of a Republican mandate; targeting those least likely to help the Conservative party maintain power.

Those pushing for a national identification system tend to place border control and countering terrorism at the forefront of their arguments. However, much of this exists under the carefully curated guise of migration policy, and instead serves the purpose of monitoring and controlling those participating in vital methods of activism, protest and political dissent. It allows for any critique toward the British government to be easily suppressed and censored; vilifying those who do choose to speak out.

The UK is currently facing a major cost of living crisis alongside strike action in crucial public sectors, all calling for overdue pay rises and immediate change to poor working conditions and depleting pensions. However, the Conservative government and those on the right of the Labour party continue to turn public attention away from much needed policy change, by creating a panic driven narrative that the country is facing a migrant crisis; distracting from the real issues at play.

For decades a British identification scheme has repeatedly failed to be implemented due to unwavering public protest and calls for a database-free state, proving Labour’s proposal will not lead to a new outcome.

Anisha Mansuri is a recent MA Creative Writing graduate from the University of Birmingham, a poet, writer, and freelance journalist who writes on issues surrounding the experience of the South Asian diaspora, as well as the silencing of women in the current political climate.

Follow her on Twitter: @AnishaMansuri

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