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ID cards plan doomed to fail
LABOUR bowed to the inevitable yesterday with the announcement of the abandonment of its scheme for compulsory identity cards.
It is a sign of how far the Government has sunk that the decision is notable for representing a remarkable outbreak of common sense. That it should come from the Home Secretary Alan Johnson is less surprising and a signal of the power he now wields in Gordon Brown's administration.
Quite apart from the compelling arguments that the scheme was a major attack on civil liberties and the rights of the citizen, it was simply unworkable and could never in itself be a solution to preventing terrorism.
However, its evident failings did not previously trouble the Government and it seems most likely that it is being dropped mainly because of its costs running into billions of pounds which are simply unaffordable given the desperate state of public finances.
It is welcome that the scheme will remain compulsory for foreign workers as it could play a significant part in tackling illegal working and people trafficking.
But further clarification is still needed as a pilot programme for a voluntary trial of the scheme in the North West is still going ahead. Ministers must spell out why someone would need a card otherwise they will open itself to accusations of introducing the system by stealth. Providing them simply so young people can prove their age is simply not good enough.
People will also want to know if their details will still be stored on a new national identity register when they apply for a new biometric passport, which would effectively amount to a compulsory scheme.
The U-turn is not the first by Ministers in recent weeks and will not be the last. But the electorate will be entitled to wonder why they voted for Labour when it now admits it got so much wrong.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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