Digital ID

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

I think there is a lot of misinformation out there about this proposal. It is not about surveillance; it is not about a police state—the police will not be able to stop people and require them to show their digital ID. In many other countries where such a scheme has been used, it has been about making the Government and the state more effective and efficient and about giving people greater control over their data so that they can actually see it. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman uses search engines or whether he has any form of online banking on his phone, but I gently say to him that the world has moved on. I understand that lots of people have concerns, but I believe that there is a strong case for making this happen, just as it has happened in many other countries.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I respect the Secretary of State greatly, but honestly on this one I am afraid I just cannot support her whatsoever. I say that because the opposition to this ID in the United Kingdom is great, but in Northern Ireland, the Labour party, the Government and the Secretary of State in particular have managed to unite all the political parties against it. My goodness—she should do more stuff on Northern Ireland affairs, because if she can get everybody together, we could do things that were never done before. I say this with great respect: this is not about illegal immigration; this is about the nanny state. It is the first step on an icy, slippery slope—an imposed restriction by Government—and my constituents are saying no. Would the Secretary of State reconsider what she is putting forward, because really, it is going nowhere in Northern Ireland?

[Liz Kendall]

The hon. Gentleman and I agree on a football club, but it would appear that we do not agree on digital ID. As the hon. Gentleman knows, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts visited Northern Ireland last week. We will work through all the different institutions. I want to be very clear to anybody who has concerns about this that it is not a Brit card—that is not what we are calling it. We want to ensure that security and privacy are built in from the start. The Good Friday agreement is absolutely sacrosanct. I think there are real advantages here: when people see the system that we want and the benefits to their lives, they may reconsider their views.