Thousands of civil liberties advocates gathered in London on Saturday to protest against the left-wing Labour Party government’s plan to impose digital ID cards on the nation.
Marching from Marble Arch to Whitehall in central London, demonstrators were seen carrying banners and placards reading “No to Digital ID”, “If You Accept Digital ID Today, You’ve Accepted Social Credit Tomorrow”, and “Once Scanned, Never Free”.
The protest came in response to plans mooted by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to roll out a “Brit Card” Digital ID scheme by 2029. Starmer initially pitched the plan as a means of combatting illegal migration under the assumption that tying the system to employment, shady businesses would be discouraged from hiring migrants under the table.
However, it has been reported that government officials are considering plans to vastly expand their use, potentially including a Digital ID requirement as proof of age when purchasing a pint in a pub. The government is also reportedly planning on issuing Digital IDs to children as young as 13-years-old
Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo said per the Daily Mail: “Starmer has sold his Orwellian digital ID scheme to the public on the lie that it will only be used to stop illegal working but now the truth, buried in the small print, is becoming clear.
“We now know that digital IDs could be the backbone of a surveillance state and used for everything from tax and pensions to banking and education. The prospects of enrolling even children into this sprawling biometric system is sinister, unjustified and prompts the chilling question of just what he thinks the ID will be used for in the future.
“No one voted for this and millions of people who have signed the petition against it are simply being ignored.”
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – OCTOBER 18: Protesters march against UK Government’s plan to introduce a digital identification card in central in London, United Kingdom on October 18, 2025. (Photo by Ilyas Tayfun Salci/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The plans to introduce a digital identity system, which has been a longstanding project of former Labour Prime Minister and arch globalist Tony Blair, has been met with significant backlash from the public.
A petition launched in June opposing the plans has already gained nearly three million signatures, meaning that the Parliament will debate the issue. The petition states: “We think this would be a step towards mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system.”
Responding to the petition, the government replied earlier this month: “We will introduce a digital ID within this Parliament to help tackle illegal migration, make accessing government services easier, and enable wider efficiencies. We will consult on details soon.”
However, Brexit champion Nigel Farage, whose populist Reform UK holds a commanding lead in the polls, has vowed that if elected as prime minister, his government would immediately scrap any Digital ID system rolled out by the Labour government.
Mr Farage said last month: “I am firmly opposed to Keir Starmer’s digital ID cards. It will make no difference to illegal immigration, but it will be used to control and penalise the rest of us. The state should never have this much power.”
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