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Public support for digital IDs has collapsed after Keir Starmer announced plans for their introduction, in what has been described as a symptom of the prime minister’s “reverse Midas touch”.
Net support for digital ID cards fell from 35% in the early summer to -14% at the weekend after Starmer’s announcement, according to polling by More in Common.
The findings suggest that the proposal has suffered considerably from its association with an unpopular government. In June, 53% of voters surveyed said they were in favour of digital ID cards for all Britons, while 19% were opposed.
Starmer set out plans to roll out a national digital ID scheme on Friday, saying it presented an “enormous opportunity” for the UK that would “make it tougher to work illegally in this country”.
Just 31% of people surveyed after Starmer’s announcement over the weekend said they were supportive of the scheme, with 45% saying they were opposed. Of those, 32% said they were strongly opposed. More than 2.6 million people have signed a petition against introduction of the IDs.
Advocates of a national digital ID scheme are frustrated at the way the policy has been presented and believe that now it may never be implemented.
More in Common’s polling suggests public dissatisfaction with the government is behind the collapse in support. It found that 58% of those who thought Starmer was doing a bad job as prime minister opposed digital IDs, while only 20% supported them. On the other hand, of those who thought Starmer was doing a good job, 71% were supportive of digital IDs and 14% were opposed.
The figures demonstrate how the prime minister faces an uphill battle to win public support for his policies and leadership. His personal approval ratings have fallen to a record low, with a recent survey suggesting he was now the most unpopular prime minister on record.
The poll by Ipsos on Saturday found that 13% of voters were satisfied Starmer, with 79% dissatisfied – a net rating of -66. This was the lowest satisfaction rating recorded by the pollster for any prime minister going back to 1977, worse than previous lows recorded by Rishi Sunak months before the 2024 general election and John Major in August 1994.
Luke Tryl, the executive director for More in Common, said: “Digital ID is not unpopular in principle. Earlier this summer, we found a majority support the policy. Yet in perhaps the clearest sign of the government’s low standing it now seems to be suffering from a reverse Midas touch: once the government announced the plans, support dropped.
“If the government is to rebuild support for digital ID it will have to start with making a clearer use case. The risk is that, in the face of organised opposition, a policy that had the potential to be popular now becomes another millstone for the government.”
Peter Hyman, a former adviser to Starmer and Tony Blair, told a Labour party conference event in Liverpool that the plans would be “dead in the water” within six months because ministers had failed to make a convincing case for them.
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Hyman said the scheme’s opponents were “motoring” ahead and that Downing Street should enlist social media influencers to “nail down all the objections” and respond to proliferating conspiracy theories to rescue the policy.
Ministers have said digital ID cards will be used to prove a person’s right to live and work in the UK and will be compulsory for anyone who wants employment. The government is concerned that the relative ease of finding illegal work in the UK’s shadow economy is one of the factors encouraging people to make illegal and dangerous journeys across the Channel.
The photo IDs will be stored on smartphones in a similar way to digital bank cards and will contain information on the holder’]s name, residency status, date of birth and nationality. They will not be required to access healthcare or welfare payments.
Senior ministers told the Guardian the aim was for the ID cards to be rolled out before the next election and initially used to prove people’s right to work, before being expanded to store health and benefits data to streamline access to public services and tackle fraud.
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, told a conference fringe event that for her “it’s always been a no-brainer, if one of the results of having an ID card is to clamp down on the ability of people to cheat the system”. The plan has been opposed by Reform UK, while the Conservatives have called it a “gimmick”.
