London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Vaccine passports, voter ID and anti-protest laws are marching the UK into authoritarianism, but why should I bother resisting?

Vaccine passports, voter ID and anti-protest laws are marching the UK into authoritarianism, but why should I bother resisting?

2021 will see the UK become a nation of vaccine passports, compulsory voter ID and the suppression of peaceful protest. But these things only affect minorities, so why resist? As long as pubs are open, I’m alright, Jack.

We’re all feeling a bit jaded, aren’t we, after the year we’ve had? Bless us. We barely have the motivation to start wearing jeans again, let alone summon the energy to resist a nation’s slow and subtle march towards authoritarianism.

Perhaps that’s why the people of my country, the much-less-United Kingdom, are sitting by listlessly while laws and measures are introduced to erode our civil liberties and human rights. We’re too tired. Leave us alone. We’re binge-watching old episodes of Bake Off.

Fine, vaccine ‘passports’, which are now here (the NHS app on my phone tells people that I’m now fully vaccinated), will almost certainly create a two-tier society in which getting into places – or out of them – will require people to have an injection, even if they don’t want to.


Sure, the imminent requirement for voters to bring ID to polls is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist in a country where the only real electoral fraud is committed by governments through gerrymandering and disenfranchisement. And, yeah, it adds extra democratic barriers for already disadvantaged people by making them go through the expense and hoop-jumping of getting ID (you pay £75.50 for a passport, for example, while the mooted ‘free’ electoral ID card will undoubtedly be Kafka-esque in its accessibility).

We get that the upcoming Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will squash our basic right to protest down to the smallest, most impotent levels, by allowing police to arbitrarily set noise limits and arrest anyone "causing public nuisance” – or, in other words, stopping protests from actually being noticed by anyone.

We know all this, really, but few of us are doing anything about it. Is it because we’re lethargic? Or because we just want to stand up in pubs and don’t care about anything else?

Or is it because it doesn’t affect most of us? Not in a bad way, anyhow.

I mean, like I say, I’ve been vaccinated and have an app to prove it. I can wave that at the bouncer or border guard and go on my merry way. I can afford a passport and a driver’s licence, so bringing ID to a voting booth is no great hassle. As for protests, I’m sure the police would be very fair to me, as long as I didn’t make too much noise. I’m not really the demographic they pile in on.

I’m the majority in many things. The status quo, for the most part, suits me – and these laws are designed to protect the status quo. So, why should I try to stop them?

It’s like the argument over CCTV – something very familiar to UK citizens, who live among more cameras per capita than any country bar the US and China. If you’re not doing anything wrong, you’ve got nothing to worry about, right? As the saying goes: I’m alright, Jack.

Except, am I?

The definition of ‘wrong’ changes over time. So what happens if what I think is right, is suddenly ruled unacceptable?

What happens if I then can’t access the ID to vote out the government who made those changes?

What if, next time, they want me to take a drug that I don’t want to take and remove my rights if I refuse?

What if I want to go onto the streets and express my thoughts on the injustice, but find that I’m fined or imprisoned for doing so in a way that “causes nuisance”? Or simply fined and imprisoned for being me?

Surely this won’t happen in the UK, though, will it?

Ask a Catholic from Northern Ireland, or anyone in this country who doesn’t benefit from the status quo, about their experience of the law in this country.

It’s like the much-used Martin Niemöller text:

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

If we don’t resist, perhaps we won’t be alright, Jack.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×