The left is continuing its incessantly long march through British institutions by seizing on the changing political vibe in the United Kingdom. For some time now, more and more voters are starting to become persuaded that the state is fundamentally broken, a significant outcome of that is its astonishing inefficiency. Voters witness high speed rail projects shattering budget ceilings by the tens of billions and marvel at the perceived excess inefficiencies of the state. The left, accompanied by allies on the right, has decided to seize the opportunity and push hard for digital ID cards; “Show me your papers—not because I mistrust you but because the bureaucracy cares for you and wishes to be made more efficient.”

The push for digital ID cards in the United Kingdom goes back a few decades, most notably to the Blair government; no doubt Tony Blair would have loved to easily identify those that were “Hussein Sympathisers.” So far, ID cards have been stopped from becoming law but now mainstream pundits are beginning to back it. Flanking from the left and the right, the opposition cannot afford to let its guard down. Polly Tonybee, a prominent Guardian columnist, recently wrote an incredibly revealing article pushing for state ID cards, laden with fallacies. It is well worth critiquing.

First, Toynbee quotes Jake Richards, the Rother Valley member of Parliament, who says this is about “the citizen taking back control of their own data and public services” by simplifying all your passwords into one password for everything. Notice, the implicit assumption that the state equals the people; it is an integral pillar to the establishment ideology. “Simple, safe, everything in one place for everyone,” Toynbee explains in a tone resembling that of a cartoonish supervillain. …

The British political scene is incredibly polarizing; hatred for “the other guy” is at extreme levels and societal tensions are at a boiling point. Politics is designed to be emotive. It is one of a gargantuan list of reasons why the current political system does not work. Life experience teaches us that decisions made in states of extreme emotion are usually not thought through well, their potentially positive outcomes diminished and often cause harm. The political left, however redundant these labels are becoming, genuinely believes that Nigel Farage and his ilk are far right lunatics that want to deport ethnic minorities purely for the fact that they are ethnic minorities whilst selling off all our nationalized industries to rich capitalists. The political right genuinely believes that Keir Starmer and the Labour Party are introducing a two-tier justice system and importing immigrants on purpose to destroy British culture whilst seizing as much money as possible for the state.

It is incredibly unlikely either side trusts the other with the reins of power, otherwise neither would do battle with the other. So, given all this, why on earth should anyone trust “the other guy” with such power as is unleashed by mandatory ID cards? If the power is too great, too acute for anyone other than yourself to wield, it should not exist.