Backlash Stops Digital‑ID Rollouts

A mandatory worker digital‑ID proposal in the UK was abandoned after a rapid collapse in public support (polling dropped from ~50% to <33%), nearly 3 million signatures on a petition, and political pressure; the government instead plans to digitize existing document checks (biometric passport checks) by 2029. The episode shows that even well‑resourced state surveillance projects can be reversed quickly when visibility, mass mobilisation and clear stakes converge. — This demonstrates a feasible political constraint on state surveillance expansion and reframes debates over digital identity into a test of public legitimacy, petition power, and the political economy of enforcement.