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Monday, January 28, 2008

Compulsion

The Government's intentions with regards to ID cards were called into question yesterday when the Sunday People reported on a leaked document that young drivers are to be forced to have an ID card when they apply for their first licence:

The secret document from the Identity and Passport Service is headed: "Options analysis - outcome."

It says: "Various forms of coercion, such as designation of the application process for identity documents issued by UK ministers (eg passports) are an option to stimulate applications in a manageable way.

"There are advantages to designation of documents associated with particular target groups, eg young people who may be applying for their first driving licence." The report says "universal compulsion should not be used unless absolutely necessary" because of the ID controversy.

As Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human rights group Liberty, says in this morning's Guardian: "So much for a voluntary scheme ... compulsion is the ultimate ambition of this scheme and it can be achieved by stealth without the need for further parliamentary debate."

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Comments:
Perhaps this is the government's own unique way of encouraging people to use public transport and not drive thus combating climate change?

... or maybe not.

It seems to me that ID cards are dying a slow, expensive death.
 
It's just been announced that two more big companies - Accenture and BAE Systems - have withdrawn from bidding for UK National Database/ID card business.
 
The UK Government should realise that if Accenture won't touch your scheme it MUST be worthless.
 
Some time back the Tories announced that anyone bidding for the id card contract should know that they would scrap them should they come into office. Have the LDs said the same? Every tactic to deter this policy is legititmate.

It's increasingly clear that there won't be a Labour govt after the next election, and with nonsense like this as a 'flagship' policy, neither should there be.
 
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