ID Cards

The new Conservative/Libdem government intends to scrap the id card scheme. Thanks to everyone who voted against Labour.

This is a plan of the interrogation centre in Charlotte Street, Bristol that you would have been ordered to attend if the government went ahead with compulsory ID cards:

5th Floor, Monarch House, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol BS1 4EX

You would be subjected to a 30 minute interrogation, fingerprinted and photographed, as would every member of your family.

North Somerset councillors of all parties have voted overwhelmingly to oppose identity cards, but your council has limited power over this matter.

Visit the website of NO2ID, the campaign against ID Cards at www.no2id.net (link opens in new window)

Click here to see a personal video message supporting NO2ID from David Cameron.

Council Motion

I suggested to Libdem councillor Mike Bell that North Somerset council adopt a motion against id cards and this was passed in May 2006:

"North Somerset Council is opposed to the introduction of national identity cards and will write to the Home Secretary to inform him of Council policy"

Read the news story on the Mike Bell website.

Why compulsory state id cards are unacceptable

• Being ordered to attend a government centre is unacceptable for any reason, being a violation of liberty.
• Biometrics and personal data are the property of the individual, not of the state.
• Being forced to undergo fingerprinting or biometric scans is a violation of human dignity. Humans are identified by their beliefs, not their biometrics.
• The UK state has no constitution limiting the use of military force to defence, or protecting the human rights of its citizens. It has engaged in military action outside the scope of the UN charter against Iraq and Afghanistan, and violates basic liberties such as the right to use drugs. It should hardly be necessary to explain why no civilised individual would want to use such a state as the guarantor of their identity, or wish such a state to have personal data on them
• Proof of identity should only be required in specific circumstances such as claiming state benefit.
• If we need id cards, they should be provided by commercial companies as credit cards are, not by the state. That way if you are unhappy with the service, you can change the provider. Like credit cards, competition would result in them being cheap or free. A state monopoly on identity would result like any monopoly in a bad and expensive service.
• Identity should always be reciprocal. If you want to know my name and address and who my family are, I want to know your name and address and who your family are. State id is provided by a faceless bureaucracy
• In contemporary culture individuals lead public lives via the web and have their own domains. That is the basis of their identity. Id cards are only appropriate for idiots who have to lead private lives because their beliefs and behaviour do not bear scrutiny.

www.failand.org.uk