Far from IDeal
July 1st, 2009 | This post was written by Fiona MelvilleAlan Johnson’s announcement that he is not going to make ID cards compulsory could be any number of things.
It is, first of all, yet another reannouncement – the cards have never actually been compulsory (except for airside workers in Manchester and London, and for foreigners).
Secondly it’s an acknowledgement that the funds just aren’t there.
Thirdly it’s an acknowledgement that the government doesn’t really know what their purpose is – it used to be combating terrorism; then benefit fraud; then underage drinking then probably something else.
And fourthly, it’s a flexing of the power Alan Johnson currently holds.
What it’s not, however, is the abolition of ID cards and/or the National Database. At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy loon, it’s not the card itself that is the big worry; it’s the database.
When I lived in France, I had to have a residency card, which had my photo, name, address, date of birth and nationality on it. I don’t really have any great objection to that; it served as a secondary piece of photographic ID, and I only ever had to produce it when I would have had to do so here (for example, as official proof of address at the Post Office or at France Telecom). I imagine that, had I ever been stopped by the police, I would have been asked to show it but again, I don’t think that providing evidence of who you are in the event of being arrested is really a problem.
My big problem with ID cards and their database is two-fold. Firstly, (unlike France) the UK is not a country where things have to be authorised – the assumption is that you’re allowed to do something unless you are expressly prohibited. Our tradition is much more liberal and free than countries where you’re not allowed to do something unless the law specifically permits it.
But my most major objection is this. Look what the state does when it’s given too much power. Look what Poole Council did using anti-terror laws – they went after people trying to make sure their child got a good education. Look what Labour does with its massive majorities – makes bad laws, wrong decisions and nearly bankrupts us. As I have often argued, the relationship between us as citizens and the state has shifted and is now the wrong way round.
Concrete proposals to restore power to people are a good start. But I suspect an even better one might be to go through and simply repeal law after law after law.
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Tags: Accountability, Law and order, Liberty, Living in Britain
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July 2nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Repeal law after law after law – and don’t make any new ones until those that exist can be properly enforced. A Bill in Parliament used to take 18 months to draft properly and many more in its various stages to get on the Statute Book. By then it was pretty watertight. Now, because so little is drafted properly or even discussed, more and more laws have to be enacted to put right what was previously done incorrectly. Madness.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Quite. And I’d like to see sunset clauses as well – if something’s working, then great, put through a quick SI to continue it. If it’s not working as planned, it is automatically removed from the Statute Book.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:51 pm
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