UK 'ID Cards' - Do you want them?

[Mr T.]

OK goodly YD'ers,

Let your pleasures be known! This was a thread which got lost in 'The Great YD Crash of June 2004'. So it's being resurrected here.

Feel free to proffer both your facts and opinions on yay or nay on ID Cards for the UK.

Personally, I'm all for them.

Speak your minds!

[David Wallace]

No problem with an identity card at all, after all we have passports and driving licences now.

The problem will come with all the data that someone somewhere will want to add to the card in the future, one we have the cards the addition of data to the card which we cannot seen will be the invasion of liberty. No doubt someone somewhere will suggest in 20 years time that all babies are "chiped" at birth to save us the bother of carrying the card around

wasn't there a film about this some years ago?

[Andrew H]

Don't really care either way, and the government won't care whether I want them or not. To me they question is this: what are they going to do if you are stopped for some reason and you're not carrying one?

Andrew

[Phoenix]

I voted no as I can't see any useful purpose for them. Given the Governments track record for implementing IT projects the chances of this system working fully or coming in remotely near budget are negligable.

Ian

[RobK]

I voted no, for the same reasons I gave in the last poll. I don't need a piece of paper to prove I'm me.

Passports and Driving Licences are voluntary. You don't _have_ to have one. ID cards would not be.

Sturmbannfurher Von Blunkett trots out the same old rubbish about how they will reduce terrorism which is simply wrong. Once again the only people to be affected by his illiberal right-wing control freak office will be ordinary law abiding citizens like me. What's next? I know, how about detension centers where we can hold people without trial or access to a lawyer that should stop those bloody immigrants in their tracks! Oh hang on...we already have those don't we...

Sorry for the rant, but I was under the impression that we were living in a free society not some uber-fascist police state. The sooner we get rid of the mad old bugger and replace him with someone with views slightly to the left of atilla the hun the better!

Cheers,
Rob.

[Fiji Dave]

As has been mentioned above, I already have a passport, it's voluntary and if I didn't want to have one I wouldn't have to (of course that would make foreign travel a little bit more difficult).

I know who I am, my partner knows who I am, my family know who I am and my friends know who I am. They are the people who matter. Anyone else will just have to take it on trust that I am who I say I am.

I don't like the idea of being forced to carry one around with me at all times, as someone has already mentioned, what happens to me if I don't have it with me and I'm stopped? And as for stopping terrorism, you can just imagine it can't you..

"Hey Osama, how about we bomb England?"
"Oh, no, we can't do that, we haven't got one of those little cards with our picture on - and if we do get one they'll know exactly who we are..."
"Curses, that govt is so damned clever"

Just how easy is it to get forged passports? Credit cards are being cloned frequently.
I think it naive of the govt. to think that terrorists won't be abe to get round the card system.

As for having babies chipped at birth, well you may laugh, but I was reading something the other day about a bar, somewhere abroad, where you can get "chipped" and then you don't need to carry your wallet. The chip, or the frequency it emits, is scanned automatically when you order drinks and you bill just adds up through the night, no need to carry money with you.

[chrisch]

Originally Posted by RobK

I voted no, for the same reasons I gave in the last poll. I don't need a piece of paper to prove I'm me.

Passports and Driving Licences are voluntary. You don't _have_ to have one. ID cards would not be.

Sturmbannfurher Von Blunkett trots out the same old rubbish about how they will reduce terrorism which is simply wrong. Once again the only people to be affected by his illiberal right-wing control freak office will be ordinary law abiding citizens like me. What's next? I know, how about detension centers where we can hold people without trial or access to a lawyer that should stop those bloody immigrants in their tracks! Oh hang on...we already have those don't we...

Sorry for the rant, but I was under the impression that we were living in a free society not some uber-fascist police state. The sooner we get rid of the mad old bugger and replace him with someone with views slightly to the left of atilla the hun the better!

Cheers,
Rob.

That's not a rant mate - its the perfect answer...

We have 'em here - they don't work........................

Chris

[exbenzine]

Is it possible that the real issue here is not whether we should have an ID card but whether or not we should be forced to carry them with us if such a card was issued? If we did have to carry them at all times, that then makes them the a bit more suspicious and fitting of a Fascist state.

I voted no btw

[chrisch]

Originally Posted by exbenzine

Is it possible that the real issue here is not whether we should have an ID card but whether or not we should be forced to carry them with us if such a card was issued? If we did have to carry them at all times, that then makes them the a bit more suspicious and fitting of a Fascist state.

I voted no btw

This is a very important point and I agree with your sentiments. As it is proposed they (ID cards) do not need to be carried or produced. Since they are also useless it is a fair bet that after a while the government will change their mind about carrying them as this will "improve" the results.

If you don't have to carry it I personally cannot see how it is an infringement of civil liberties. However, I also cannot see that the option to leave it in a drawer forgotten will be an option for ever.

I am certain they will have no positive effect whatsover. If you could prove that they would stop terrorists from killing innocent people I will forgoe the liberty willingly. But they will not. What they will do is make stacks of money for companies like (German) Siemens and be another scandalous waste of taxpayers money on an IT project that never quite makes it. If TB gets back in post-ID he might "forget" about them and they will atrophy, left unwanted in the drawer somewhere, never seen or used as they will be embarassing.

Given the record of "New" Labour I doubt it thought. They are as sleazy and useless as the prats they replaced. Furthermore the biometrics issue will not die given the insistance of Bush on US visitors have a bio-passport. Why anyone would want to go to that country I don't know.

We will get them no matter what. Hold onto your wallet.........

Chris

[Andy Phillips]

Originally Posted by RobK

Sorry for the rant, but I was under the impression that we were living in a free society

Do you honestly beleive this.

Andrew