19 January 2006
On Monday peers voted through a significant amendment to the ID cards bill, requiring detailed costings before the legislation proceeds. The key amendment was passed by 237 votes to 156 and would mean that the ID card scheme would not proceed until the Home Secretary has laid a report before parliament, for approval by MPs, containing a detailed account of revenue and capital costs. However, the amendment must first be approved by MPs in the Commons and the government are determined to remove the amendment and press ahead with the legislation.
As a result of the vote in the Lords there was a lot of media coverage and Tony Blair came under attack over the bill at Prime Minister's Question Time yesterday. Briefings were sent out to the media and NO2ID local groups around the country also got some excellent coverage. Well done to all involved.
The Lords will continue to vote on amendments to the bill next Monday (23rd January) including amendments to remove the compulsion to register when renewing designated documents such as passports. The bill will then get its 3rd Reading in the Lords (probably in early February), before returning to the House of Commons where MPs will accept or reject peers' amendments. The last time MPs voted on the bill the government's majority was cut to just 31.
Many supporters and members have helped with the lobbying effort in the Lords, which looks like it has really paid off. The next battle will be in the House of Commons.
Supporters should write to their MPs encouraging them to vote for the Lords' amendments - particularly those on cost, removing compulsion and limiting the Register - when the bill returns to the Commons. We have a lobbying tool at http://mps.no2id.net , which allows you to lobby your MP from the comfort of your computer armed only with a postcode.
Speaking in the debate (and worthy of mention - ed), Lord Stoddart pointed out: "the Leader of the Opposition, who might one day be in government, said that he would scrap the ID scheme. The Liberal Democrats are against the scheme and would co-operate in scrapping it. We may spend billions of pounds in starting a scheme that has been agreed to by only one political party, which may not be in government for much longer than a few years".
The MPs lobbying tool is at : http://mps.no2id.net/
We need help running our office in London. If you live in London and have a few hours to spare during the week please volunteer to join the staff rota helping with the vital clerical work to support the campaign. We are also looking for some bookkeeping/accounting help. If you can help please contact the office if you can help (office@no2id.net).
NO2ID Oxford's next meeting will be held tonight at 8.00 pm in the Jury Room, Oxford Town Hall, St Aldates. All welcome - they are also looking for additional volunteers to join the committee. For more details contact admin@no2id-oxford.org
On Monday 23rd January the House of Lords will once again vote on amendments to the ID cards bill. Webcasts of the proceedings can be viewed at www.parliamentlive.tv and transcripts are available from www.parliament.uk/hansard/hansard2.cfm
The next meeting of the NO2ID Edinburgh Group will be at 7.00 pm on Wednesday 25 January in the Teviot Dining Room, Teviot Row House, Bristo Square, EH8 9AJ. The speaker will be Mark Ballard MSP, Scottish Green Party. All are welcome. Edinburgh members and supporters can sign up to various local lists at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/no2id-edinburgh/
On Saturday 4th February NO2ID Salisbury & Swindon will be teaming up in Salisbury for "an opportunity to leaflet, gather petitioners and generally spread the word". All welcome. NO2ID Swindon's next meeting is tonight (January 19th) from 7.30pm at the Clifton Inn, Clifton street (off Kingshill). For more information contact swindon@no2id.net
Two more local councils have motions opposing ID cards, North Wilts Council and Swindon Council, both in January.
Last night Warwick District Council joined the long list of local councils who have passed motions against ID cards (two more are listed below). Several more councils are upcoming.
Last Tuesday (10th January) Durham City Council voted against ID cards and in favour of affiliation with NO2ID. Councillor Carol Woods, a member of the Liberal Democrat-controlled council's cabinet, said: "It wouldn't solve the problems of terrorism. It is mainly an infringement of our civil liberties."
Last Wednesday (11th January) Newcastle City council voted in favour of a motion outlining their objection to the government's proposed ID card scheme and affiliating to the NO2ID campaign. The motion was passed by 31 votes to 26, with all 26 votes against coming from Labour councillors. Councillor Gareth Cooper who proposed the motion said: "The Government's ID cards scheme is deeply flawed in principle and in practice, and would cost taxpayers a fortune for little or no benefit." Following the vote Robin Ashby, coordinator of NO2ID Newcastle, was interviewed on Metro and Durham FM radio stations. The full text of the motion is outlined here : http://tinyurl.com/cfeo2
This week the London School of Economics released an update to their excellent June 2005 'The Identity Project' report. The report was overseen by an advisory committee of 16 LSE professors who guided the report. Numerous LSE staff members and an international team of 60 researchers contributed to, and reviewed, the reports. Accompanying the report is a letter from the Director of the LSE, Howard Davies, in which he says: "The LSE team stands by the cost estimates outlined in its first report". Davies also criticises government ministers for their emotive responses to the first report. At Prime Minister's Questions yesterday Tony Blair said: "This report they've put out under the LSE's name is actually written by someone who's the leading campaigner on civil liberty grounds against ID cards, so I don't think it's an entirely objective assessment." Nothing to do with the LSE then... The status and full report can be downloaded from http://is.lse.ac.uk/idcard/
Corporate Watch, the Oxford based research group, have produced a new report entitled 'Corporate Identity'. The report describes itself as: "A critical analysis of private companies' engagement with the identity cards scheme." Companies such as Atos Origin, NEC, EDS and BT Global and their involvement in past IT failures are documented, and there is a useful reference table. The report also recommends that the ID cards bill should be amended to remove de facto compulsion and prohibit public services from requiring an ID card in any situation. The report can be downloaded at http://www.corporatewatch.org/download.php?id=40
From our forums: Discussion of the government's plans to link ID cards to Electoral Registration http://www.no2id.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3515
iPods not ID cards, says DTI geek DTI head of applications and data services Patrick Cooper suggested it would be more cost efficient to issue everyone in the UK with an iPod than an ID card. http://www.no2id.net/news/newsblog/?p=338
Loser: Britain's Identity Crisis IEEE Spectrum magazines annual "Best and Worst Technology Projects" rates the Home Office Identity Cards proposals as one of the five worst technology projects for 2006. http://www.no2id.net/news/newsblog/?p=336
More news is available from the NO2ID newsblog at http://www.no2id.net/news/newsblog/
ID Cards: A titanic project waiting for its iceberg - ZDNet
Professor Ian Angell, head of LSE's department of information systems, claims that not only is the scheme likely to blow up in the government's face, it may also be illegal.
Cost of ID cards set to spiral - eGov Monitor
UNISON comment on LSE status report
UNISON policy officer David McCulloch said the union has long warned that the introduction of identity cards would be an expensive mistake. "The report backs up everything that UNISON has been saying all along," he said. "We want the government to cease all further development of the cards."
ID cards 'still on way' - Manchester Online
The government is to press on with plans for identity cards despite another setback in the Lords. The policy was in tatters after peers voted by a large majority to block it, but Home Office minister and Leigh MP Andy Burnham vowed that they would reverse the decision in the Commons.
Worse than the dome - The Guardian
The identity cards bill may have fallen off the news agenda, but that should change now the House of Lords is starting the bill's report stage with today's vote to force the government to tell us what this grandiose scheme is likely to cost.
Cameron calls ID cards 'unBritish' - Daily Mail
The Tory leader vowed to step up opposition to the scheme amid signs of growing Labour unease at the way it is being managed. He seized on a hint from Gordon Brown that he is among those inside the Cabinet who are unhappy about the plan.
Idiotic! - Sunday Mirror
Blow to Blair as experts say identity card plan won't work
The world-famous London School Of Economics - which is paid millions to examine Government plans - called for the scheme to be scrapped.
A tax on being alive - Daily Telegraph
Labour's determination to introduce compulsory identity cards for all British citizens sends a shiver down the spine of anyone concerned about individual liberty or protecting their privacy from the intrusive meddling of the state. One of the most treasured and ancient freedoms enjoyed by Britons has been not having to present "identity papers" to the police.
Australia considers ID card - RNIF
Philip Ruddock is treating the controversial national identity card as the the next cab off the rank for the Howard Governments security agenda following the passage of its tough anti-terrorism laws. Having ruled out the introduction of any form of compulsory ID card in recent years, the Australia Card issue was put back on the agenda by John Howard following the London terrorist bombings in July.
Database State : NHS IT - A spineless performance - The Guardian
When ministers last week proudly lifted the curtain on the new consumer-choice NHS, the centrepiece of Tony Blair's public service reforms, the IT supposed to make it all work was down. The NHS's apparent inability to achieve this, despite massive funding and the efforts of a highly experienced project team, does not bode well for other government IT schemes such as the identity card.
US: National ID, State Nightmare - Associate Press
An anti-terrorism law creating a national standard for all driver's licenses by 2008 isn't upsetting just civil libertarians and immigration rights activists. State motor vehicle officials nationwide who will have to carry out the Real ID Act say its authors grossly underestimated its logistical, technological and financial demands.
US: Mass Spying Means Gross Errors - Wired
The United States government either currently has, or soon will have, new technology that makes mass surveillance possible. The next question for citizens and other policy makers is whether and when to use this capability.
Ireland: ID cards may be introduced here if adopted in Britain - Evening Echo
Ireland may have to create an ID card system if they are introduced in Britain. However, the Minister for Justice Michael Mc Dowell says any Irish scheme would operate on a voluntary basis for those who travel to the UK frequently.
Please send me any items of interest you encounter - Editor(newsletter@no2id.net)
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