How support for digital ID cards has plummeted since Keir Starmer announced his plan
Keir Starmer needs to realise that leaders lead by following their principles, not by chasing opinion polls
Last week I wrote in these pages that I would reject the government’s digital ID card plans. This week it has emerged that the general public feels the same way.
The first new poll since Keir Starmer’s plan was announced found that the net backing for digital ID cards has collapsed from plus 35 per cent in the summer to minus 14 – a near 50-point negative swing.
That plummeting support is as clear and concrete an example as you could get for why ‘government by poll’ does not work – and why politicians need to lead from their first principles instead.
The trouble with chasing the polls is that the polls can change – and they can change very quickly when the question goes from an “ideal”, hypothetical plan to a “real” one. That is doubly true when the plan is one driven by an overwhelmingly unpopular Prime Minister, whose commitment to his political principles is in question.
Blair’s failed ID card plan
Did I know that the popularity of ID cards would collapse as quickly as this? Perhaps not, but I had my suspicions. This is, as they say, not my first rodeo when it comes to ID cards.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair began laying the groundwork for a mandatory ID scheme as far back as 2002. His proposals initially appeared to be popular with the public – until people started to see the reality behind the spin.
It took a dedicated campaign by liberals and civil society groups over several years, pointing out the myriad flaws and dangers inherent in Labour’s plans, but eventually the polls turned and the policy was finally buried in 2010, with few mourning its loss.
The only difference this time is the pace at which Keir Starmer’s plans have unravelled. To give him his due, Tony Blair’s 20-plus years of pushing ID card schemes suggest that he genuinely believes in the policy. The approach taken by Keir Starmer, however, suggests that the only reason he launched these plans was political desperation.
A short-term calculation
That is the fundamental problem for the Prime Minister, and one that has long dogged him, both before and since entering government. People can tell when you are making a decision for the wrong reasons – and they do not like it.
At every political crossroads, Keir Starmer (no doubt driven by the Very Clever People in his inner circle) looks at the polls to see what the most popular option is – and then follows that, wherever it may lead.
In each short-term calculation, they are following what may appear to be the route to popularity. Rather than becoming popular by chasing the polls, however, Keir Starmer is making policies unpopular simply because he supports them.
The public want political leaders who know what they stand for and can articulate their principles. It is increasingly clear that Keir Starmer is unwilling or unable to do that – and the growing digital ID debacle is just the latest example.
If the Prime Minister really wants to keep chasing public opinion rather than leading it, his final move is going to be a departure from Number Ten.
Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland
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