Councillors criticise ‘misinformation’ around digital ID proposals

Nicholas Thomas – Local democracy reporter

Labour councillors in a Welsh city have fought back against Tory claims the UK Government’s digital ID proposals could have “adverse” impacts on the nation.

Two Conservatives in Newport had called for the city council to formally oppose the proposed introduction of a digital ID system that Prime Minister Keir Starmer claims will tackle illegal working.

Cllrs Ray Mogford and Will Routley, in their motion, said the policy would have the “adverse potential” to “risk criminalising millions of people” for not signing up, cost £4.6 billion, and raise “significant privacy and civil liberties concerns”.

At a full council meeting, on Tuesday, Labour members railed against those claims as “misinformation” they alleged was out-of-date or misrepresented the UK Government’s proposals, which are in the early stages.

The council leader, Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, said the claims around digital ID made it “an important debate”, and accepted “people are concerned” about the proposed policy – but said it was not mandatory and challenged the suggestion it would “criminalise” people.

A petition to the UK Parliament opposing digital ID has gained nearly three million signatures and is due to be debated in the House of Commons in early December.

But Cllr Batrouni said the motion, which refers to a lack of IT safeguards, was a “failure to understand how systems work now”.

“All our personal data is in the cloud now”, he said, adding that social media firms “scrape” and “sell” users’ information.

“They track everything we do,” he added.

Cllr Emma Stowell-Corten said the proposed digital ID system would contain “nothing more than what’s already on your passport”, and said the claim it would cost £4.6 billion was a throwback to a Tony Blair-era proposal scrapped 15 years ago.

She said she would request extra training for councillors on spotting misinformation.

The local authority’s deputy leader, Cllr Deb Davies, said Newport residents would “expect us to focus on issues we can actually influence”, adding the appropriate action would be for the council to take part in the UK Government’s consultation in the new year.

“If we want the public to trust us, we have to be very careful with what’s put on the record,” she added.

But Cllr Stephen Cocks was more critical of the motion, branding it “ridiculous” and a “cheap attempt to score a few political points”.

Cllr Mogford defended his motion, saying there are “legitimate concerns” and “speculation” around the potential introduction of digital ID.

He claimed those concerns “far outweigh” the potential benefits of the scheme.

The UK Government said digital ID, if approved, will be “mandatory as a means of proving your right to work” and will also “in time make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records”.

But Cllr Matthew Evans, the Conservative group leader, claimed it was “unusual” for the UK Government to pursue a policy not in last year’s Labour Party manifesto.

“To me there are far too many questions and not enough actual answers as to how it’s going to improve our lives,” he added.

Cllr Routley said his motion was “speaking on behalf of Newportonians who are against this”.

Figures show nearly 10,000 Newport residents have signed the UK Parliament petition opposing digital ID.

Councillors instead backed a Labour amended motion supporting the digital ID plans but calling on the UK Government to address misinformation concerns.