ID Cards

What is it about ID cards that Charles Clarke loves so much? Every day this increasingly authoritarian New Labour government becomes more and more desperate to control and monitor people’s lives. The issue of ID cards was always going to be a controversial one, but whether you agree with them or not, the sly manner by which Charles Clarke is bringing in compulsory ID cards is appalling.

To begin with, before the last election Charles Clarke stated that ID cards would not be compulsory, which sounded reasonable to the general public. Then along comes his secret post-election proviso: they will be optional for everyone in the country, unless they need a passport. That’s right, optional, except for the 80% of the population that carry a passport.

Thankfully, we have a brilliant safety net against tyrannical governments such as this one, called the House of Lords (Strangely, it is also this government that is seeking to cripple the House of Lords). Back the bill goes, as the disgusted Lords refute that the bill is optional and brand it “compulsion by stealth”. And there the bill stays, bouncing back and forth in the no-man’s land between the Commons and the Lords until the Charles Clarke finally admits defeat and amends the bill so that passport applicants won’t be forced to have an ID card until after the next election. On the surface that seems like a good move, it becomes a real campaign issue with Labour and the Conservatives, giving the public a real choice on the matter. Like the idea of compulsory ID cards? Vote Labour. Concerned about compulsory ID cards? Vote Conservative.

Then the real bombshell. A move so insidious that at first it seemed like a sick April Fool’s joke a few days late. But this is no laughing matter. Charles Clarke has now stated that anyone can have a passport without having an ID card: BUT THEY WILL STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR ONE. Yes, like a spoiled hairy baby who can’t get his own way, Charles Clarke won’t force passport applicants to have an ID card, but he will force them to pay for one.

Does the New Labour menace know no limits? ID cards: Insidious and Deceitful.

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