Identity cards

[Msgrieves]

Why did everyone go mental about that when the government was trying to introduce them? I recall there was a big project, but a lot of people were dead against them. I wasn't particularly politically aware at the time, but surely they would have actually been a pretty good idea

For many things you either need a drivers licence or a passport which to some people me is a big pita, would that not have solved this?

I'm with you on this. Everybody needs id for all kinds of things. Passports and driving licence seem to be the ones of choice, unfortunately they are not legally required in the UK, so what happens when you have neither? It almost becomes impossible to deal with organisations.

They would be so convenient! My partner is Spanish and they all have them - I'm really jealous that he can carry it with him in his wallet ( I don't have a driving license myself so I always have to bring my passport out if I think I might need ID for something)

I seem to remember there was a lot of concern over privacy and people objecting on principle to the idea that you would be forced to have one. But I feel like in reality, we are already all forced to have either a passport or drivers license as you can't do essential things like open a bank account without official photo ID

I also seem to recall the nail in the coffin was the idea that everyone would need to pay for them - they were saying £70 or something, when clearly if they are compulsory they should be free!

In a free country, you can be where you want doing what you want so long as you aren't breaking the law, and the laws are proportionate and reasonable without putting restrictions on where people can be and what they can do if they aren't doing any harm.

In oppressive and dictatorial countries there are a lot more limits on who can be where, when, doing what. And the first thing you need to start moving towards such systems is a universal ID card that everyone has to have with them.

It is important to resist any changes that could be used to restrict our freedoms, including introducing compulsory ID.

Changes never happen overnight but the tiny harmless-seeming changes that happen now will be the foundations for what theoretically could happen in 60 years time. It's not about what the current bunch of donkeys government is likely to do, but about ensuring that any future even-worse government doesn't have easy foundations to build upon.

The idea was that eventually every part of your life would be covered by your ID card and life would be impossible without them. The plan was for a giant database to which numerous public bodies would have access, and all the information would be linked - so your doctor would be able to see how much you paid in tax, as one example. Leaving aside the likelihood of govt ever being able to build and run a database that complicated, it opened up all sorts of privacy implications, in that people in organisations you had no contact or involvement with (the Forestry Commission being the example I recall) would be able to see people's data and individuals would have no idea who was looking them up.

The easiest thing would quite possibly be to have a non-driving drivers license.

Having lived in Germany where we needed one I don't see the fuss either. It just lived in my wallet, along with my driving licence which had a lot more information on it!

In the UK it seems to go against our privacy ideals though.

It's ridiculous in my opinion not to have one.

You need so much individual paperwork to show your identity, an ID card could solve all of this.

I am German and by law you have to have one ID document, ID card or passport. Driving licence is not an official ID document. My ID card had my address on it, no need for utility bills or forgetting a big passport when opening a bank account or collecting a signed-for letter from the post office.

OK, as EU country we use ID card for travel within the EU so it was more than just domestic use.

I agree op! They seem essential to me. It’s so stupid when you see a traffic policeman on the tv stopping someone in their car and then it takes 30 mins and three phone calls to find out who they are, before they even start investigating the offence.

And from a security pov of course, once everyone has an obligatory ID, you kind of stand out if you don’t !

Wierd also that those who are most opposed to immigration tend to be those who oppose ID cards too! If you want to protect UK borders then surely it makes sense to know how many people we have in the country in the first place? And what precise numbers are coming in?

When me and dh were getting married. We decided we wanted a join bank account.
We went down to dh's bank, which he'd had accounts with since birth, and asked to make the account joint.
The bank said I had to produce one of the following IDs:
Passport
Photo driving licence
Army ID
Credit card with photo ID.

I didn't drive and have never had a passport, and didn't have either the other two. They told me that to add my name to his bank account the best thing I could do was apply for a passport.
In real terms we went to my bank and added dh to my account without the need for above, although he had passport and driving licence anyway.

So yes, I think photo ID card would be a good idea.

Exactly that. My DD has no plans to start driving any time soon but she's got a provisional driving license now for exactly that purpose. Many of her peers have too. It also has her address, unlike her passport...