With whom is your identity safe?

This is a slightly unrelated topic to architecture, but it's one of those things that I feel very strongly about, and something that you can help with, just by knowing about it. I am sure that you've heard about the National ID Card scheme and the National Identity Register (NIR), with its claims to:

• stop terrorists
• catch criminals
• prevent fraud
• stop illegal immigration
• make it easier to set up bank accounts, etc.

This is all very good, and if it did those things, I think anyone would be at least tempted to get one, even if it does cost £300 each (according to the London School of Economics)! However, the government have a problem here, as quite a few people have pointed out:

• former MI5 spy chief Stella Rimington, has said that the scheme would be "absolutely useless" for catching terrorists. As far as she knows, no terrorist has ever tried to hide their identity since the IRA. In fact the July 7 bombers were specifically instructed to be seen by security cameras.
• catching criminals? Sounds great but I don't understand how. The police have very few problems identifying criminals.
• prevent fraud - the government have been selling the benefits fraud argument. While this is a problem, by the government's own admission, the overwhelming majority of benefit fraud is about over-claiming, not who's claiming. Furthermore, the National Identity Register is going to be a goldmine for ID fraudsters. Today they can use your name, date of birth and address. With the NIR they'll be able to use your biometric data (which you can't change).
• illegal immigration is run by traffickers and employers who have no regard for the law. There's no reason why an ID card would have ANY effect.
• setting up bank accounts! At last! Something that could actually happen as a result of ID cards! (note: setting up a bank account without your ID card will become more difficult) In 2010, the government are in line to get students and young people to enroll on the ID scheme, in the hope that it will help them to set up bank accounts. The rest of us will be next.

So reading this, you'll be thinking either I am a extremely biased and lying fool, or that the ID scheme is not all that it's cracked up to be. I believe that everyone needs to wise up to the fact that the key selling points of the ID scheme, is exactly that - it's a marketing strategy. If you want to push something through in today's parliament, you need only say:

• stop terrorism!
• control immigration!
• tough on crime!
• save the environment!

And what is worse, is that the majority of us, who do not have time to scrutinize the laws that come out of Parliament just nod our heads, in apathetic agreement. Looking at the details of the scheme, we must ask ourselves what it is actually for? I'm really quite stumped on this one - I haven't a clue why it will be useful. I hope someone can enlighten me. Here are some of the facts that have been rather difficult to market, from the government's own literature:

• People who refuse to register for the government's planned ID card scheme could face a "civil financial penalty" of up to £2,500
• People would be fined up to £1,000 for failing to return a dead relative's ID card
• women who marry will have to pay at least £30 for a new card if they want to use their married name, risking a £1,000 fine if they do not comply
• Failure to update the details on the NIR will result in a £1000 fine
• You either get an ID card, or your life will become increasingly difficult or impossible. That is the option.

Please do some research for yourself. The No2ID campaign, although perhaps biased, is completely honest about the facts. Do visit them. The Identity bill has already passed; only a new bill can reverse it - which is unlikely. You probably won't be able to stop it legally, and it will arrive by stealth, packaged as something else. So I'm afraid that we as citizens have only the one option, and it's my least favourite action for any issue: dissent. There are 40,000 people who have grudgingly chosen this action in the absence of any other option except complete compliance. For the record, I will not co-operate with any form of ID tagging. I will be liable for the £2500 fine as a result, and on refusal to pay, I will be sent to court - me and 40,000 others. It will be a sad day when it is people that serve the state, rather than the other way around.

Links

: No2ID website Government ID card website - at the time of writing, due to the government's IT problems, it was inaccessible.