The prime minister believes a new scheme would help crack down on illegal working in the UK.
  • HighlandCow@feddit.uk
    2·
    1 day ago

    The more stupid authoritarian anti privacy shite this guy does the more reform is more likely to win the next years election, I think they honestly have a good chance compared to last year’s elections and there opposition to highly hated labour policy’s that the lib Dems nor the conservatives are truly taking seriously

    I’m gonna probably have the sus chungus cameo guy as my prime minister

    God fuck me man

  • mindlesscrollyparrot@discuss.tchncs.de
    3·
    2 days ago

    Yvette Cooper and Jonathan Reynolds previously ruled this out, and it’s obvious that it will do nothing to prevent immigrants from working illegally. Not to mention that the fact that we don’t allow successful asylum claimants to work is repugnant.

    So the question is: who leant on him? Who is it that really wants this? Is Palantir going to get the contract, by any chance?

    • SleafordMod@feddit.ukEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      Maybe he does really think this is a way to appeal to those who want controls on immigration, but without doing something too tough, which would alienate his MPs.

      I think he’s probably making a mistake though. This digital ID policy seems to be very unpopular, with both the left and the right. The petition that opposes digital ID now has 1.7 million signatures, and it will probably get a few more.

      • mindlesscrollyparrot@discuss.tchncs.de
        1·
        1 day ago

        Hanlon’s Razor, sure, but I don’t buy it. He isn’t stupid.

        Just like the Online Safety Act, it isn’t going to do much for its stated purpose, but it’s going to be very effective for helping the government find and stop people organising protests.

        • SleafordMod@feddit.ukEnglish
          1·
          1 day ago

          I think I’ve heard on the radio, and on shows like Newsnight, commentators saying that Starmer might not be very politically astute. So maybe he does genuinely think that digital ID is a reasonable solution to reduce illegal immigration, and maybe he just doesn’t realise how much the public opposes digital ID.

          To put it another way, I don’t think Starmer is stupid. Maybe his political intuition isn’t the best though. I get the impression that he genuinely wants to improve Labour’s fortunes and he’s trying to pick some sort of middle path between the vocal left and the vocal right. I’m not sure digital ID will be a vote-winning path though.

          • mindlesscrollyparrot@discuss.tchncs.de
            1·
            1 day ago

            It isn’t only a question of political astuteness though. It’s obvious that it won’t work. Only an idiot would think that someone who is prepared to risk their life crossing the channel in a small boat is going to be put off by a digital ID.

            I don’t think I want to even consider that he might be dismantling our freedom to appease the far right in the hope that they won’t notice that it hasn’t done anything. I don’t think you call that a lack of political astuteness. That would be rank stupidity.

            • SleafordMod@feddit.ukEnglish
              1·
              13 hours ago

              Maybe Starmer is just a bit out of touch. For a long time he has tried to be a sensible centrist politician right? So I think he sees digital ID as a centrist way to reduce rates of illegal migrants working in the UK, while not bringing in draconian anti-immigration measures which might upset his MPs.

              The Labour conference might be interesting. Maybe we will see some Labour figures calling for big changes to how Number 10 is behaving. I guess they want to see a government that doesn’t try to navigate a centrist path, but instead is more boldly leftist and progressive.

  • NickwithaC@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    3 days ago

    It only took 15 years and the destruction of society but Labour will finally get their ID cards.