Last week I tried to renew my Driving Licence online. Three years ago it was straightforward. This time I could not complete the process without downloading the One.Gov ap. It required I 'Prove my identity'. I had already filled in all address and licence details and had had two passkeys by text which I'd used. Not enough! 'We will now check your identity by asking you questions about your finances based on Experian records'. Why is my address, Driving Licence number and the fact that a number of government departments write to me not enough proof? I have never managed to get an answer to my question "Who allowed Experian to collect, hold and disseminate data on citizens of this country?" Now, it seems they are an arm of the state, reporting about us and being used as a check on our legitimacy.
I will renew my license by sending the paper application, an option still allowed, but in the future? What is going on? Are we being quietly turned into a mirror of China where everything is controlled via a government ap. What's next, as in China try to buy a ticket and find the ap says "NO" Try to leave the country and you cannot because you don't have a digital Exit Permit. Far-fetched? Did you vote for a 'Digital Wallet'?
In March this year the government launched its Gov UK Digital Wallet. Apparently, we should all be thrilled that we can store all our records, licences and government interaction on our phones. We will be able to use our phone to 'Prove' who we are. Does that mean if one loses the thing one is no longer a person? There are problems. Firstly, we do not have ID cards in the UK. As much as Tony Blair pushed for them as part of his campaign to become EU president, a majority do not want them. Secondly, security. Cybercriminals have attacked well protected systems and held major organisations including the NHS to ransom. An April 2025 report by the Telegraph demonstrated the scheme leaks like a colander. Of course, a thief can break into your house and maybe make off with one or other document you have not hidden. They cannot make off with your whole life identity.
This is extremely dangerous. As with so much that Blair promoted it is EU based. The 'European Digital Identity Wallet' is being rolled out across the EU. It will enable each EU Province to view and share information on EU citizens. Has Starmer secretly agreed to extend this to the UK as part of his 'Ever Closer Cooperation' with the EU? Surely, before we all become digitised there should be a debate, a vote. In his desire to create the Workers paradise Starmer may well relish having every single person's details on a digital government database. He may want to be Big Brother and has shown a contempt for democracy that fits him to that role. However, at present, it is surely a matter for the people? I do not agree with being Salami Sliced into giving up my democratic rights.
