When I arrived in the UK the first thing I needed to do before being able to work is to make an appointment at some government office to get issued a national i

When I arrived in the UK the first thing I needed to do before being able to work is to make an appointment at some government office to get issued a national insurance number (which is like a tax ID) which every employer requires. So while people don’t carry ID cards, everyone of working age definitely has this ID unless they exclusively work undeclared, off-the-books jobs. So I’m not convinced that the lack of ID cards is some meaningful privacy protection.