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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 1d

Well this is a new one for me and something that belongs in an update of Bad Data (and in Sum of Us).

Italians mistakenly identified as Roma on Scottish Census.

www.thetimes.com/article/f1ff...

Italians mistakenly identifying as Roma on botched Scottish census

Statisticians said results should be treated with caution as some people had mixed up the ethnic Gypsy group with the Italian capital city

www.thetimes.com

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 4d

In the sense that it's easier to justify tax increases to plug this bigger deficit than because recent fiscal headroom was riskily small? Might be, but I would think most people probably don't think either is a good reason!

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 5d

Economic forecasts are *always* revised & the swing can be substantial. Add to that the OBR choosing this moment to revise productivity figures going back 10 years.

Bad data strikes again, leaving the Chancellor with a fiscal headache & massive PR challenge ⬇️

www.thetimes.com/article/83c5...

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 9d

Very astute piece.

The unification of data systems that was already going on quietly in the background could be at risk now because it's being publicly framed as part of the move to a 'papers please' society.

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Reposted by Georgina Sturge

Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 9d

Timely account of the fascinating history of data in our politics!

It shows how much of the data collection that's defined our sense of who we are as a society across history comes down to a mix of accident, contingency & bias (& plenty of genuine concern for human welfare & a better society too!)

Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 9d

Spotted by a contact at the Labour conference in Liverpool! 🙌

Want to better understand our complicated, love-hate relationship with ID cards, population registers, data privacy, and being counted and put in boxes by the state?

Head down to the conference bookshop (?) to pick up a copy!

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 9d

Spotted by a contact at the Labour conference in Liverpool! 🙌

Want to better understand our complicated, love-hate relationship with ID cards, population registers, data privacy, and being counted and put in boxes by the state?

Head down to the conference bookshop (?) to pick up a copy!

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 11d

Wake up in the morning feeling like T Blair...

Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 11d

🪪 ID cards are back! This time it's digital. 🪪

"YouGov ran a snap poll yesterday in which support had fallen to just 42% while opposition stood at 44%. At the time of writing, a parliamentary petition against ID cards is heading towards two million signatures."

open.substack.com/pub/georgina...

ID cards are back! This time it's digital.

If the government wants to avoid a re-run of the 2000s, it must fully convince us of the benefits this time.

open.substack.com

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 11d

🪪 ID cards are back! This time it's digital. 🪪

"YouGov ran a snap poll yesterday in which support had fallen to just 42% while opposition stood at 44%. At the time of writing, a parliamentary petition against ID cards is heading towards two million signatures."

open.substack.com/pub/georgina...

ID cards are back! This time it's digital.

If the government wants to avoid a re-run of the 2000s, it must fully convince us of the benefits this time.

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Georgina Sturge

Migration Observatory @migobs.bsky.social · 12d

New data provides fascinating insights into outcomes of recent refugees granted status between 2015 and 2020

Both asylum (ARR) and resettled refugees (RR) struggled in labour market, but particular the latter - likely reflecting that many were selected based on vulnerability

link to data in reply

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Reposted by Georgina Sturge

Natty @natty008.bsky.social · 12d

I was able to discuss this due to reading this book.

Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 12d

Want to know how digital ID works, what it would involve, why we don't have it already, and why the last time we tried to have an identity register it went tits up very fast?

It's the perfect time to get hold of a copy of Sum of Us (e- and audio-books also available)!

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 12d

Past experience would suggest that what looks like broad support is rather fragile. It matters a lot what people perceive the benefits and risks to be. In the 2006 case, high support fell quickly away following an effective anti campaign and doubts about government competence to keep data safe.

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 12d

"Digital identity cards might sound like something we should have - and an informed public would back them in principle - but getting to the stage of having them without Labour dealing itself severe political injury will not be easily done."

georginasturge.substack.com/p/is-britain...

Is Britain ready for BritCard?

Labour is re-entering risky political space with digital ID proposal

georginasturge.substack.com

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 12d

www.waterstones.com/book/sum-of-...

Sum of Us by Georgina Sturge | Waterstones

Buy Sum of Us by Georgina Sturge from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

www.waterstones.com

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 12d

Want to know how digital ID works, what it would involve, why we don't have it already, and why the last time we tried to have an identity register it went tits up very fast?

It's the perfect time to get hold of a copy of Sum of Us (e- and audio-books also available)!

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 12d

www.waterstones.com/book/sum-of-...

Sum of Us by Georgina Sturge | Waterstones

Buy Sum of Us by Georgina Sturge from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

www.waterstones.com

Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 12d

Want to know how digital ID works, what it would involve, why we don't have it already, and why the last time we tried to have an identity register it went tits up very fast?

It's the perfect time to get hold of a copy of Sum of Us (e- and audio-books also available)!

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 13d

A recent YouGov/ Big Brother Watch poll found that when people are primed with a lengthy description of what digital ID might actually involve, support appears to be lower.

[from August 2025]

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 13d

Civil liberties campaigns were very effective at chipping away that support, while the promise that ID cards would solve a range of ills also came into doubt.

I wrote about this over the summer:

georginasturge.substack.com/p/is-britain...

Is Britain ready for BritCard?

Labour is re-entering risky political space with digital ID proposal

georginasturge.substack.com

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 13d

Worth noting that public opinion on identity cards is pretty mixed. Not clear yet exactly what will be proposed though and we can be quite sure it won't be a physical card.

Labour's experience with ID cards in the 2000s is definitely also worth remembering. They had strong support at first...

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 13d

Well, it's really happening 🗃️ ID cards are back!

From what's suggested so far:
- ID will be all digital
- Doubtful whether everyone will be covered because
- Only need to present it for specific processes (i.e. not everyone works)

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

All UK adults to require digital ID under Keir Starmer plan

The ‘Brit card’ would be part of efforts to tackle illegal migration by verifying right to live and work in Britain

www.thetimes.com

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 14d

When the people you want to count depend on going unnoticed

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 14d

More than ten times as many women are sleeping rough in England than Government data indicates - Women’s Rough Sleeping Census. For safety they are less likely to sleep in visible places, and more likely to hide their sex, and thus be undercounted
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Homelessness: 'Invisible' women rough sleeping in plain sight

BBC London joins charity workers as they carry out research into where homeless women are sleeping.

www.bbc.com

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 14d

I'm sure there will be some new polling on this soon but I'd be surprised if it's shifted a lot

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 14d

Definitely! The public tends to make big exceptions to preferred restrictiveness when families are involved. I don't see a lot of polling on what ppl think is fair treatment of migrants tbh, but we can certainly infer some of the things you describe.

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 14d

There's a persistent impression about the migration debate in the UK that one side - that of migration sceptics - both feels and cares a lot more.

I've got a nagging feeling that's not only untrue but having a disastrous effect.

⬇️ My latest post ⬇️

georginasturge.substack.com/p/a-monopoly...

A monopoly on emotion

We are in a crisis of being unable to talk to people with different opinions to our own

georginasturge.substack.com

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Georgina Sturge @georginasturge.bsky.social · 14d

Oh I love that phrasing, asymmetry of passion. And yes, good point on the parallel!

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