Anyone else pleased the government is backtracking on making ID cards compulsory?

[edam]

surprised there's no thread about this or have I missed one?

Although I'm a little suspicious that they are still trying to bring them in by the back door with all this Challenge 25 stuff. 'Hey young people, ID cards are A Good Thing, get one and you'll be served in the pub!'

Pleased but sceptical. What's the point of ID cards if they are not compulsory? Are they trying to get them in by the back door - introduce them but say that they are only compulsory for forriners but then change their minds (again) when the systems are in place and say that Brits have to have them too.

I hadn't even realised that there was a plan to make them immediately compulsory for some airport workers. I'm sure that the Challenge 25 stuff was always going to be a more significant part of the creep-up to universal compulsory ID cards. Is there anything to suggest that the govt is not still aiming at universal compulsory ID cards?

Pleased but the Tories would have scrapped it anyway. Sceptical though. I fear they are planning to just adapt the passport database and bolt on the 'Challenge 25' database.

I'm pleased about it.

Abetadad, I think you could well be right. And the Tory policy is one reason I might have been persuaded to switch my vote, although oppositions are often in favour of civil liberties yet suddenly discover when they are in government having more power over the public seems like A Good Thing...

Guvk, the papers seem to think so, presumably home affairs/lobby correspondents have been briefed or something.

Surely most people just use a driving license for proof of age though? I don't understand why anyone would opt for an ID card over a driving license tbh.

The Gov have at last realised that ID cards are a vote loser so they're back-pedalling furiously. Loads of people I know were going to vote Tory next year because they weren't going to go ahead with this.

I was contemplating it, Jux. Despite coming from generations of Labour voters and knowing people whose parents fought for the rights of the working classes back in the day when the police used to break up meetings with their truncheons.

edam - I do agree with you on the point about "oppositions are often in favour of civil liberties yet suddenly discover when they are in government having more power over the public seems like A Good Thing..."

I have a feeling (but do please correct me if I am wrong) that Labour were quite strongly against things like 'Stop and Search' when in opposition?

I just hope that the Tories will remain pro-civil liberties when they get into power. I fear like all Govts they will become more authoritarian as time goes by though.

Yup, am sure Labour was very critical of authoritarian law enforcement or government behaviour in opposition. And then they get into power and start to think a massive DNA database is a really good idea, even if it's illegal...

The trouble is that there are very few politicians who are actually worthy of the name. Most people who put themselves up for MPhood are actually there for the wrong reasons. They just want to feather their own nests and are not really interested in the rights and wrongs of anything let alone what the people want. They think they know better because they have more facts at their fingertips. Unfortunately this gives rise to Authoritarianism and then lies.