Explain digital ID or watch it fizzle out, UK PM Starmer told
- Reference: 1759310031
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/10/01/digital_id_labour_conference/
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Campaigners urge UK PM Starmer to dump digital ID wheeze before it's announced [1]READ MORE
Referring to the gangs that organize unauthorized immigration to the UK on small boats, Starmer said: "We will stop this, we will smash the gangs, we will crack down on illegal working, we will remove people with no right to be here and we will secure Britain's borders."
Last week, Starmer said his [2]government's new digital ID plans would tackle illegal working through its mandatory use for right-to-work checks by the end of this Parliament, but he did not refer to this policy yesterday.
On Monday, Peter Hyman, a former communications adviser to Starmer, told a meeting at the Labour Party conference that digital ID was a significant policy but "no one's going out there to explain it" and as a result its opponents were "motoring" ahead.
"At this rate, ID cards will be [3]dead in the water in six months' time ," he said.
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A parliamentary petition against digital ID had been [5]signed by more than 2.6 million people by late afternoon on September 30.
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Starmer did discuss the benefits of IT to the National Health Service in his conference speech.
"Artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare. I have seen it for myself. I have spoken to patients alive because of it," he said, citing stroke patients where AI is used to identify the precise location of blood clots.
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He highlighted the NHS Online service for [9]remote appointments with consultants , as announced by health secretary Wes Streeting.
[10]UK's digital hospital plan meets analog reality check
[11]Britain's policing minister punts facial recog nationwide
[12]UK minister suggests government could ditch 'dangerous' Elon Musk's X
[13]Digital ID, same place, different time: In this timeline, the result might surprise us
"For the vast majority, a face-to-face consultation is right and we will never take that away from those who want it," he said, but online appointments could benefit time-pressed single mothers and older people in rural areas, he claimed.
"Why not have a doctor see you at home in your living room, on an iPad, talking to you? No queues, no three-hour bus trips, no cancellation letters arriving after the appointment date," the prime minister said.
Patients would be able to access the best consultants in the country rather than just those working in their area, he added. Medical professionals have already raised questions about the project.
In a closing section aiming to show how Britain is not broken, Starmer claimed: "Tech companies [are] queuing up to back this country, saying that we are indispensable for the AI future. Those companies can invest anywhere in the world but they are choosing us, they are choosing Hartlepool, Warrington, Belfast, the East Midlands." ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/24/campaign_uk_digital_id/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/26/uk_digital_id_confirmed/
[3] https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/digital-ids-dead-in-the-water-in-six-months-as-opposition-mounts-m7wbsdn6j
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aNz7t40vNwaP7h6eJlBjhwAAAQA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/730194
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aNz7t40vNwaP7h6eJlBjhwAAAQA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aNz7t40vNwaP7h6eJlBjhwAAAQA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aNz7t40vNwaP7h6eJlBjhwAAAQA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/01/nhs_online/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/01/nhs_online/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/30/britains_policing_minister_talks_up/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/29/uk_government_x_twiter/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/29/digital_id_opinion_column/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"they are choosing us, they are choosing Hartlepool, Warrington, Belfast, the East Midlands"
They will build nondescript buildings in industrial estates which employ a handful of people and be hooked up to the existing water an electricity supplies causing tariffs to be raised.
That is what the UK will get out of AI.
Re: "they are choosing us, they are choosing Hartlepool, Warrington, Belfast, the East Midlands"
And when the AI bubble bursts, they'll be empty half-finished buildings that nobody has a use for anymore
Re: "they are choosing us, they are choosing Hartlepool, Warrington, Belfast, the East Midlands"
Probably become cannabis farms.
Re: "they are choosing us, they are choosing Hartlepool, Warrington, Belfast, the East Midlands"
They would use less electricity and water!
Politicians
Are clueless.
They will spin whatever is required to remain in post/power/appointment.
They will be driven by external "advisors" that are not interested in the United Kingdom's best interests, only the shareholder value of whatever they are selling.
Of course, there's no easy solution here, politics will be politics and little will change before I'm long gone from this planet I'm sure.
choosing our wallets
Those AI hype companies are choosing us as we have fuckwits in charge (I include tory wankers and deform turds as part of that!, not just red tie tory labour), so they can pick our wallets clean while stealing our personal data for training. so we get to pay twice at minimum.
Digital ID has been touted as a way to stop illegal immigrants crossing in small boats, but so far he's only said it will be needed for getting a job or buying a house.
So how does that deter illegal immigration? Such individuals get given houses/hotels to stay in in, mobile phones & internet, food, full access to the NHS & Schools etc without contributing a penny to the costs - and that's all they are coming for anyway. All with almost zero chance of ever being deported. So what if Digital ID means they can't get a job or buy a house - they don't need to, and chances are 95% of them will eventually be given one anyway.
"Medical professionals have already raised questions about the project."
So basically this is a vote-winning policy that hasn't actually been worked out with those who have to implement it.
"Patients would be able to access the best consultants in the country ..." and that is why it is necessary for you to carry a digital ID at all times, running our Palantir app.