Fellow Daily Sceptic readers may remember that the Government intends to extend the use of digital identity verification across additional departments as part of its ‘digital transformation’ programme.
The Cabinet Office ran a public consultation on these developments in January-March this year. The results of that consultation have now been published, together with the wider Government response, and include some points of note. The figures and percentages used below are taken directly from the Government’s report.
The consultation received 66,233 responses, 99% of which were from private citizens: quite a decent showing for a little publicised consultation, especially when you consider that Sir Patrick Vallance’s April 2023 report on Net Zero Society: Scenarios and Pathways chose to engage just 29 citizens in a ‘public’ (and by all accounts, distinctly private) dialogue.
An overwhelming proportion of the responses were opposed to the Government’s proposals, as listed below, with support for the Government proposals shown in brackets. (The apparent increase in public support in questions eight and nine may perhaps be attributed to the ‘reverse wording’ of these two questions – i.e., by disagreeing with the Question, respondents were agreeing with the Government’s proposal; no doubt we can expect to see more of this grammatical sleight of hand.)
Question one: 73% opposed (2% supported)
Question two: 76% opposed (2% supported)
Question three: 75% opposed (3% supported)
Question four: 89% opposed (6% supported)
Question five: 93% opposed (4% supported)
Question six: n/a
Question seven: 87% opposed (3% supported)
Question eight: 58% opposed (25% supported)
Question nine: 54% opposed (29% supported)
Question 10: 83% opposed (8% supported)
There is a certain grim relish in seeing the Government’s squirming attempt to burnish these dire levels of public support as some kind of moral victory. A grateful Cabinet Office pays tribute, for example, to the positive responses (2%) to Question one: “Government welcomes recognition by a small proportion of respondents that services which help people prove who they are would deliver better, joined up services.”
Those figures are damning enough. But the Cabinet Office has other, larger worries: the majority of respondents have got hold of the idea that “an individual’s data privacy was more important than the benefits of improved services” and don’t show much confidence in Government’s ability to keep their data private. Worse, instead of answering the detailed technical questions in the consultation, many respondents raised wider, societal questions about where this may all be leading. And the Cabinet Office knows why: “There is clear evidence that… many appear to have been significantly influenced by commentaries against implementing compulsory citizen digital identity in principle and data sharing to support it.” Those “anti-digital commentaries” have fed “an underlying mistrust of Government use of personal data”. Perhaps a new sin of ‘digital denialism’ is on its way?
In mitigation, the Cabinet Office has decided to exclude “up to 20%” of responses from the analysis, where respondents suggested that expanding the use of digital identity might “mean citizens would not be able to use cash, that they would support a social credit system, that they would lead to an identity card being introduced or that digital identities are going to be made mandatory for all people. As these wider matters were not part of the consultation we determined these responses on wider issues to be out of scope for analysis.”
Even then, the Cabinet Office feels it must apologise, with a shudder of genteel distaste, that the results analysed nevertheless appear “overwhelmingly skewed towards the majority who used the consultation as a vehicle to express these opinions”.
So, a well-rehearsed response, which will no doubt be repeated when analysis of the CBDC consultation is published. Public opposition is acknowledged and immediately mischaracterised: opponents have no agency but have been misled by vague, unnamed forces (“anti-digital commentaries” – seriously?) and opinions based on ‘misinformation’ can legitimately – no, must, for the sake of democracy – be ignored. Familiar stuff: shift the debate from, say, “Do you support the EU?” to “Who is funding the Leave campaign?” If that still sounds fanciful, here is the short FAQ sheet released by the Cabinet Office as a form of press release – an increasingly desperate set of ‘fact checks’ on made up claims from the imagined ‘anti-digital’ lobby, which attempts to portray citizens’ valid concerns about the Government’s motives and competence into a set of anti-misinformation soundbites (helpfully forwarded to friends, such as the Global Government Group, who can write puff pieces on the Government’s noble struggle against ignorance and superstition).
FAQs on Government digital identity consultation response.
U.K. Government responds to digital ID ‘misconceptions’ after public consultation.
After this humiliating rejection, is the Government pressing ahead with the policy? Of course it is.
Jean Marat is a pseudonym.
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These idiots are fast approaching my debanking/defunding list. We are members, but I am sick of their morbid stupidity, endless simpleton wokisms, racisms, and climate bollocks. Just take care of the god damn buildings and heritage sites and shut the hell up. Or watch your membership dwindle.
Ferd I’m amazed you haven’t left yet. The NT has always frozen their property in aspic, a form of living death.
The problem is, whether or not I remain a member, The National Trust does own large swathes of coastline in the South West and it is this National Trust coastline that keeps us a members, otherwise I think I would leave.
I did not renew my membership after purchasing one of their leaflets describing walks around Hawkshead in the lake district.
In the leaflet they described Vikings as Scandinavian refugees.That was the last straw for me.Even the kids asked what on earth are they on about?
Presumably, that’s because they believe the refugees of today are repeating what the Vikings did in the past.
:->
Yep———-Ironically the Swedes today are now paying for their multicultural dogma as 20 times more sexual crimes are committed by the latter day rapists than by indigenous Swedes. —-But so determined are they that this isn’t true that they make it a crime to talk about it.
Yes I believe the Vikings were put up in castles at taxpayers expense, and I had always thought they were rapists and pillagers. Sorry I now admit I was wrong and that we should pay money for past injustices to all red haired people.
The NT has set its course and there is no rowing back for them now despite your displeasure or any number of members displeasure. There is no way that their proscribed agenda will be allowed to be perceived by the public to have been overturned by a members revolt. Money will be found either from lottery, government or billionaire funding sources to ensure that a popular revolt of this kind fails – God forbid, the people may apply the same democratic principle to all manner of things.
“Patrick Begg, outdoors and natural resources director at the trust”
Who the F. thinks these job titles up? Doubtless another waster on a couple of hundred grand a year. He belongs in the bottom block. A complete Next Tuesday.
Probably a relation of the useless lefty economist David Begg. He was one of the crazies desperate to bounce UK in to the euro. Essentially a useful idiot. Once yr in the woke aristocracy these sinecures become rather easier to obtain.
Thanks
I think there should be a competition for the most ridiculous job titles in the wake of the climate alarm, HP.
You are right Aethelred.
Former member of NT here. The main threat to ‘their’ properties is haemorrhaging support. They keep telling us about the slave-owning history of the builders and owners of the houses – so why don’t they burn them down to demonstrate their contempt more fully?
A Minister for Management of Civilisational Decline would be more useful.
Congratulations Minister. Yours is the only department to achieve its targets.
The Ministry for Silly Talks?
I suggest a Minister for Deaeration of Woke Windbags.
Thanks for then new word.
Maybe the droughts and wildfires will be offset by the floods. It just needs a longer term perspective than most marketing plans.
Make no mistake, this is marketing and not true concern for environments that have suffered all these “hazards” in past years.
Not yet another bloody government department about the climate alarm. We need that new Argentinian prez Javier Milei to do one of his – “Ministry of Climate Adaptation? OUT!” actions. Honestly, the NT are losing it…drought, heavy rain, wildfires? But not today or tomorrow but by 2060! For god’s sake, just get a deckchair and some wellies.
Why the hell are we worrying about 2060. The so-called Tory dupes have caused enough damage to this country these past fourteen years. It’s 2023, can we pay attention to NOW?
Apparently the planet might be a couple of degrees warmer by 2100. Well if anybody is still on this planet in 2100 lucky them, personally I would appreciate those two degrees NOW.
And I won’t be here in 2060 so actually I CGAF about effing global boiling, flooding, freezing or whatever other nonsense they come up with.
Today’s problems need today’s solutions. Tomorrow can look after itself.
https://documents.nationaltrust.org.uk/story/annual-report-2023/page/2/1
I haven’t had a good look yet but I am sure this will be interesting
Today’s problems need today’s solutions. Tomorrow can look after itself.
Tomorrow is something the people of tomorrow will have to deal with tomorrow. People who claim they are solving the problems of tomorrow by creating problems today just want to distract from the latter. They don’t know anything about the real problems of tomorrow and the people of tomorrow obviously haven’t appointed them as their representatives. Conveniently, they just cannot yet object to what’s supposedly being done in their name.
Excellent
It’s a shame that they appear to be jumping onto the bandwagon using “climate change” in lieu of normal extreme weather events and the need to maintain various structures, both old and new. I am actually a member of it. The original reason why I joined was doing the sums for parking at a number of their sites. In effect, paying up front, but less than non-members have to pay given the number of times I go to them.
I’ve often parked without paying. Don’t think their fines are enforcible anyway. I feel eternal shame that I belonged to this organisation for a couple of decades. I should be flayed like Henry the second was in Canterbury cathedral and be forced to sleep on the floor with no blanket.
..and lo the grift continues unabated.
….”“the single biggest threat” to the charity’s mission”, is your organisation’s woke-ism, Mr Begg.
I used to be a member. I looked at moving my subscription to the RSPB, but they’re almost as bad.
Do not support any of them.
I don’t. I want to support the wildlife, our heritage etc., but unfortunately, no organisation can be trusted it seems.
The charity […] said approximately 71% of the places it looks after could be at medium or high risk of climate hazards by 2060.
Attempt to translate this into English: Hazard means risk. Hence, the last bit is
climate risks in 37 years.
Combining this with the bit in front of it yields
above-average risk of climate risks in 37 years.
Then, we have the could, a subjunctive, ie, another risk. We’re now at
there’s a risk of above average risk of climate risks in 37 years
Filling in the last bit now gives the complete sentence:
Modelling has shown that there will be a risk of above average risk of climate risks for about 3/4 of the places the National Trust is currently administrating in 37 years.
What’s that’s supposed to mean – beyond No climate-related damage expected until at least 2060 – is anybody’s guess. Presumably, the point is to repeat risk combined with climate as often as possible to convey the impression of a serious danger. Someone demanding anything based on a statement like this should be unceremoniously shown door and told not to come back until he has at least managed to make up his mind about what he’s actually afraid of.
So far the evidence is the greatest danger to the fabric of the buildiungs and their contents arises from the incompetence of the NT which allows them to burn to the ground.
Interesting that they demand a minister for climate adaptation. In some ways I agreenm with adapting to changes in our environment. Stop wasting huge resources on trying to change the temperature, which is impossible but, as required, adapt to changes – which is what humans have always done. Is the National Trust finally bending to the obvious?
We need to “tackle” Climate change…..so give us some more money.
It’s hilarious how they use “adaptation” and not ‘mitigation’, as these clowns think we can control the weather.
Translation: Systems going well…. Send more money.
Where does this National trust gets its information from? ——-Do they ever question any of it? ——-Very unlikely. Rent seekers question nothing. After all if you need money for something, being alarmist about climate is a great way to get it. If you are a coral island in the pacific what better to get big sums of money from the eco socialist western world than claim you are going to vanish beneath the waves. If you are animal rights activists who think we should all eat vegetables and locusts, what better way to stop people killing animals for food than to claim the animals destroy the climate. If you build turbines or smart meters, what better way to farm all the subsidy than claim your products save the planet. etc etc etc………”Climate Change” —–The gift that keeps on giving. But the gifts are all paid for by us.——– And it is costing trillions.