Hello! A special welcome to those new to NO2ID, and to the Government’s continuing plans for ID cards. This is the first of what we expect to be our ‘monthly’ Bulletin – though the frequency may vary according to circumstances, and what the Government tries doing.  

What do we know so far?

Though the Government hasn’t written much down yet, preferring instead to brief out its shifting justifications and U-turns, this article in Civil Service World is a pretty good summary of what’s been said publicly… up to when the piece was written, in the first week of January. 

Since then we’ve had multiple announcements, most notably that the digital ID card itself – the ID ‘credential’ stored on your phone – will “no longer be mandatory” for compulsory Right to Work checks for all. This is less significant than it may seem, for reasons we cover in our blogpost on the “shadow” account you’ll be forced to have when you get a verified One Login, which you’ll need to do the checks. 

This ‘change of heart’ is also exactly what happened last time, when compulsory “entitlement cards” in 2002 re-emerged as “voluntary” ID cards in the 2004 consultation, only to become compulsory again when Labour passed the Identity Cards Act 2006.

We’ve published our own take on what’s been said (and not said) on ID, and we’re still waiting for answers on fundamental issues like ‘Multiplicity’ – will you be able to have only One Login, for example, and will people be able to have valid IDs in both their given and chosen (e.g. married) names? They’re also dodging questions on the costs, on scope and on purposes.

Then earlier this week, the Home Secretary said she wants to build a “Panopticon” state using AI, cameras, and biometric facial recognition – which raises obvious questions about an ID system using a digital credential containing your facial biometric…

What’s going to happen next?

The Government’s consultation keeps getting pushed back – though they’ve confirmed there’ll be ID for newborns – but when it eventually opens we shall see the things that the Government wants to talk about. These are probably not the same things that you need or want to know; we’ve already provided a (non-exhaustive) list of topics that NO2ID believes should (also) be covered.

Home Office ambitions aside, Ministers want to reframe ID as essential for accessing public services and ‘public service reform’. Quite how this will work remains to be explained, and difficult questions and challenging consequences will most likely be dumped into the bucket of “inclusion”. 

What you can do

Of course we can stop this, as we did before. The first step is making others aware of what is actually going on. While some are claiming “victory”, NO2ID is redoubling its efforts. And you can help.

The most straightforward way would be to forward this Bulletin to your friends, family and colleagues. The more people who stay informed, the harder it will be for the Government to fool people into thinking “there’s nothing to worry about”. Please take a moment to share this email with people you care about.

Campaigning costs money, and NO2ID exists on donations and volunteer effort. There are a number of ways you can help us: make a donation on our website via PayPal, Stripe or bank transfer. 

(People have told us they are wearing our old metal pin badge – though it has the old web address on it – so we’re currently fundraising to do a new batch for 2026. Your donations will help us do the first production run, which takes about a month. Those who donate £40 or more now will get a few as a reward for helping the campaign with the upfront costs of the first run; if you just want to buy one or two we’ll tell you when they’ve all arrived.)

Thank you for subscribing to our Bulletin, and for all your support.

Phil Booth
National Coordinator, NO2ID

23rd January 2026

www.no2id.uk
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