Holding an identity card should be a personal choice for British citizens — just as it is now to obtain a passport. Accordingly, I want the introduction of identity cards for all British citizens to be voluntary
Alan Johnson, Home Secretary - 1st July 2009
We will reduce the information British citizens have to give for the new biometric passport to no more than that required for today's passport. And so conference, I can say to you today, in the next parliament there will be no compulsory ID cards for British citizens
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister - 29th September 2009
Following Alex's very well-received blogpost summing up our opposition to body scanners - and a number of new stories from this week - I thought it would be useful to provide a list of the numerous ways in which a government supposedly committed to 'personal choice' on identity has pushed, cajoled and coerced the nation into applying for an ID card.
If you are over 60 and want a bus pass - Pensioners could be forced to carry identity cards to qualify for free bus travel
If you are poor and bank at RBS and Lloyds - Meg Hillier said companies might offer to buy the £30 cards for people who wouldn’t pay for them otherwise
Or if you are just poor - Home Office minister Meg Hillier argues ID cards can provide the foundation for fairer access to services and opportunities
If you work at an airport - All staff who work 'airside' are eligible to get a free card as part of the regional roll-out of the ID cards scheme
If you are aged 18-24 and live in London (and want to buy alcohol) - Meg Hillier said People aged 18 to 24 will be able to spend £30 on a biometric photocard that can be used to prove their age when buying alcohol or age-restricted goods or to gain entry to a nightclub
If you are a Premiership footballer or 'skilled migrant' - The Home Office said that from January 6 skilled migrants would have to apply for identity cards when their visas expired. This further roll-out of the plans was brought forward from April
If you are a civil servant - Phil Woolas, the Immigration minister, faced ridicule last night after announcing that his own civil servants would be the first Britons to be issued with identity cards
When applying for a CRB check - Millions could be asked to provide ID card and fingerprint data to get a job under new systems being developed by the Home Office following a collapse in the accuracy of background checks
And finally...to prevent identity fraud and terrorism - Alan Johnson: We need identity cards, and soon
And the areas this 'non-compulsory' scheme has been 'rolled out'...
Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Berwick and Northumberland - Identity cards could be introduced across the North-East by the end of the year, it has been revealed
Birmingham and Warwick - Identity cards are to be issued in Birmingham, the Home Office has announced
Lancashire - Identity cards are to be rolled out across Lancashire in the New Year
Cheshire - ID card scheme rolled out in Cheshire
London - London is about to see the roll-out of the latest stage of the government's identity card scheme
Manchester - Residents of Greater Manchester will be the first British citizens able to apply for a voluntary ID card
And...our friendly, neighbourhood Post Office - Post Office co-opted to hasten ID card rollout
This list is probably not comprehensive, BUT don't let anyone - Minister, politician, Joe Public - ever tell you the ID card scheme has gone away. The Government is trying every trick in the political playbook to press identity cards into the hands of a deeply skeptical general public.
We must not let them. Go to www.no2id.net to read more.
By Dylan Sharpe




