A year ago, we unexpectedly faced the introduction of mandatory Digital ID for those that want to work and sudden changes were announced to existing inheritance tax rules for farmers, posing an existential threat to British family agricultural businesses. The Assisted Dying (aka Suicide) Bill was looking like it was gaining traction. You could have concluded that not much could be done to stop all this, as it seemed that the state and those holding political power were going to drive through their measures, by hook or by crook. This was happening with very little debate and, as in the cases above, not appearing in any party manifesto.
What a difference a year makes! When people work together to defend privacy, freedom and shared values, you can bring about significant change. Campaigning and public involvement across the UK led Keir Starmer to abandon plans for mandatory Digital ID. His successor, Andy Burnham, confirmed that Digital ID would not be introduced in that form. The government also U-turned on farmers’ inheritance tax (IHT), marking a major victory for campaigners. These outcomes showed that public pressure can influence policy and we can reshape the political landscape.
These are two enormous victories, and we need to be clear that had we not all fought back, things would be very different today. However, that is not to say that these wins are sufficient. There are still extremely serious issues facing our farmers. While the IHT threshold was raised to £2.5million per farmer with spouse (if married), it was only kicking the problem into the long grass.
Digital ID has not ‘gone away’ either. The recent announcement by Lisa Nandy that Britain would have a social-media ban for ‘under 16s’, in reality this means that all adults will need to digitally verify their ID to ‘prove who they are’ in order to join the digital town square. Alongside this, One Login is being forced onto eight million company directors without any debate.
The government is using the GOV.UK App as part of a concerted drive to get everyone onto digital platforms concerning tax, with no serious response to the public’s concerns about surveillance, tracking and data security.
We have seen an incredible 43 per cent of UK businesses experience cyber breaches in the past 12 months, with millions of people being negatively affected. Yet the government’s preoccupation is to push as many people onto their various digital platforms as possible, with as little debate and discussion as they can get away with.
Five years ago, we launched the Together Declaration, in response to Boris Johnson’s announcement on so called Freedom Day that we would need to show vaccine passports. We stated we would not accept a ‘papers please’ society. We won that battle. We remain as committed to this position now, as we were when we first set up.
The empty buzzwords of ‘safety’ and ‘protection’ are wheeled out by this government when attempting to bring in measures that would change the relationship between the citizen and state forever. Fortunately, through successful collaboration with other campaign groups, Together was able to help convince MPs voting on the Assisted Dying Bill to stop it from becoming law. This was done via emails, letters and phone calls to MPs and members of the House of Lords, with rallies, petitions, protests and events helping to shine a light on the enormous problems and concerns with this issue.
Despite these victories, we are still facing extremely serious issues in the UK. It is in that context that we’ve convened the Together Association’s Fifth Anniversary event, on Saturday 7 November, in London. We are bringing together fantastic speakers and successful campaigners to address some of the most pressing issues we are facing as a nation.
To kick off, our opening plenary will cover how we might understand the rapidly shifting State of the Nation: our institutions and identity.
Katharine Birbalsingh will be discussing diversity and education from her new book, Diversity is Not Our Strength. Maajid Nawaz will be speaking about identity and technocrats, Bernie Spofforth will outline what is happening to our institutions, Professor Norman Fenton will speak on universities and Covid, and Alka Sehgal Cuthbert on why the Equality Act needs to go.
Throughout the day, we will have sessions covering a range of topics, including Jennie Bristow on intergenerational relationships and the culture wars, in discussion with Connie Shaw, Maeve Halligan, Ada Akpala and Ellie Hodges. We’ll also be considering the impact of pursuing Net Zero on vehicle owners and the continual impositions on car drivers across the UK.
We will reveal why we believe the Covid Inquiry was not fit for purpose and what we should be demanding to ensure what happened in 2020 cannot happen again, with Molly Kingsley, Clare Craig, Lesley Katon and Francis Hoar. There will be a special session on new media (and what next) with Mike Graham, Winston Marshall, Based and Bougie, Colin Brazier and Rafe Heydel-Mankoo – and a final surprise session!
Many of our speakers have written books which will be available to purchase on the day. I have also written a book, We Are Stronger Together: Inside the Movement that Changed the World demonstrating how, when the public get stuck in, we can have a direct and positive impact on the world around us. It will be available on the day. More on that soon.
There are still some tickets available, offered at a special discount to Academy of Ideas readers. Use the code BATTLE2026, which gives £4 off per ticket.
Furthermore, if you are under 30 years old, we offer the opportunity to attend free of charge thanks to the generosity of some of our members. Simply quote ACAD1830 (strictly subject to availability).
We look forward to seeing you there as we continue building a grassroots community to defend our hard-won rights, freedoms and values, Together.
Alan Miller is one of the founders of Together.
Together 5th Anniversary Event takes place on Saturday 7 November in London. For more details and tickets, click here.
