On Cardboard!
Monday 20 June 2005
Dear Tessa Jowell,
Thank you for your response to my initial letter on the subject of ID cards. I'd like to state, at this point, that I have recently signed the following pledge: "I will refuse to register for an ID card and will donate £10 to a legal defence fund but only if 10,000 other people will also make this same pledge." This pledge was launched on 9th June and currently has nearly 4,000 signatures. Its deadline date is in October.
I note from your reply that in deciding your position on the Bill you have chosen to overlook the fact that the "Labour rebels" who voted against this bill on its last outing were elected back in. The key justification you give for voting for the Bill is that it is in the manifesto, irrespective of whether its presence in the manifesto is justified. Such circularity of logic can't be the grounding for such a dramatic proposal.
The Bill, already described as a solution looking for a problem, is currently being touted as a panacea against identity fraud. The much quoted figure of £1.3 billion a year comes from "Identity Fraud - A Study", a document published by the Cabinet Office in July 2002. Close scrutiny of this document shows that, were a national database to be created, it would only serve to save £35 million of the £1.3 billion. This is discussed in full at the following address: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/25/id_bill_mk2_fraud_con/
You state that the Bill will not introduce compulsory cards but even its harshest critics have pointed out that without such a measure the Bill will be useless, and any Government not interested in introducing compulsory cards would never waste time deciding if the cards were to become compulsory, how much they would fine people for not having them. Contrary to your statement that cards will not be made compulsory in the foreseeable future and that such a decision would have to be put before the House, the Bill allows the Home Secretary to make it compulsory for anyone applying for a passport from 2008.
I also find it surprising that most people you have spoken to are in favour of the cards. Can you honestly suggest that more people have written to you in favour of the cards than against? And are these people in favour of them in practice as well as in principle? Are they willing to fork out £93-300 for the state-given privilege to exist? It is not enough to find support - the nature of that support must be examined. If the support is based on ignorance and apathy, should that support influence your decision?
I can't help but feel that the arguments put forward in favour of ID Cards have been universally vague and woolly, with David Blunkett taking a complete U-turn on whether or not the cards will help in the war against terrorism; at one point claiming that it would even help against "subliminal" terror, whatever that is. Charles Clarke's frustration at the LSE for not releasing more details on how they have arrived at their costing of £300 per card was almost laughable considering how closely guarded the Home Office's own figures have been, "commercial sensitivity" or not.
Arguments against are backed up by expert advice and detailed reports from the IT community and the security community - informed opinions clearly stated by communities the Government seem utterly uninterested in speaking to.
I shan't go on much further, though, because I feel arguments against the database would be a waste of effort, and the reason I feel that way is because not only do I believe you are perfectly well-versed in these arguments, I also believe you are personally against the cards. Your previous abstentions imply a loyalty divided between the party and your own political beliefs. As a former party whip you no doubt feel the pressures and tensions more keenly than most, but if there was ever a Bill important enough for you to deviate from the party line, then surely this is it? By your own admission it is time for politicians to give their electorate honesty, integrity and passion. Can't this be the debate where you demonstrate how?
Yours sincerely,
Simon Scott
Dear Tessa Jowell,
Thank you for your response to my initial letter on the subject of ID cards. I'd like to state, at this point, that I have recently signed the following pledge: "I will refuse to register for an ID card and will donate £10 to a legal defence fund but only if 10,000 other people will also make this same pledge." This pledge was launched on 9th June and currently has nearly 4,000 signatures. Its deadline date is in October.
I note from your reply that in deciding your position on the Bill you have chosen to overlook the fact that the "Labour rebels" who voted against this bill on its last outing were elected back in. The key justification you give for voting for the Bill is that it is in the manifesto, irrespective of whether its presence in the manifesto is justified. Such circularity of logic can't be the grounding for such a dramatic proposal.
The Bill, already described as a solution looking for a problem, is currently being touted as a panacea against identity fraud. The much quoted figure of £1.3 billion a year comes from "Identity Fraud - A Study", a document published by the Cabinet Office in July 2002. Close scrutiny of this document shows that, were a national database to be created, it would only serve to save £35 million of the £1.3 billion. This is discussed in full at the following address: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/25/id_bill_mk2_fraud_con/
You state that the Bill will not introduce compulsory cards but even its harshest critics have pointed out that without such a measure the Bill will be useless, and any Government not interested in introducing compulsory cards would never waste time deciding if the cards were to become compulsory, how much they would fine people for not having them. Contrary to your statement that cards will not be made compulsory in the foreseeable future and that such a decision would have to be put before the House, the Bill allows the Home Secretary to make it compulsory for anyone applying for a passport from 2008.
I also find it surprising that most people you have spoken to are in favour of the cards. Can you honestly suggest that more people have written to you in favour of the cards than against? And are these people in favour of them in practice as well as in principle? Are they willing to fork out £93-300 for the state-given privilege to exist? It is not enough to find support - the nature of that support must be examined. If the support is based on ignorance and apathy, should that support influence your decision?
I can't help but feel that the arguments put forward in favour of ID Cards have been universally vague and woolly, with David Blunkett taking a complete U-turn on whether or not the cards will help in the war against terrorism; at one point claiming that it would even help against "subliminal" terror, whatever that is. Charles Clarke's frustration at the LSE for not releasing more details on how they have arrived at their costing of £300 per card was almost laughable considering how closely guarded the Home Office's own figures have been, "commercial sensitivity" or not.
Arguments against are backed up by expert advice and detailed reports from the IT community and the security community - informed opinions clearly stated by communities the Government seem utterly uninterested in speaking to.
I shan't go on much further, though, because I feel arguments against the database would be a waste of effort, and the reason I feel that way is because not only do I believe you are perfectly well-versed in these arguments, I also believe you are personally against the cards. Your previous abstentions imply a loyalty divided between the party and your own political beliefs. As a former party whip you no doubt feel the pressures and tensions more keenly than most, but if there was ever a Bill important enough for you to deviate from the party line, then surely this is it? By your own admission it is time for politicians to give their electorate honesty, integrity and passion. Can't this be the debate where you demonstrate how?
Yours sincerely,
Simon Scott
posted by Hamilton's Brain | 3:25 pm
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