General Chat

Just read through the thread, and picked up a couple of points. At present you already have to 'prove' who you are to open a bank account etc., so an illegal immigrant shouldn't be able to get one. A Government Minister was interviewed on local radio this morning. What she said is ridiculous. It will be voluntary. The interviewer then asked asked her what would make people 'opt in'. Her reply was you would need it to renew your passport, driving licence open a bank account or renew a credit card! How the hell is that voluntary!!!! Its also an additional cost to everything, not in place of. Big Brother Is Here!! Rob

Other countries have them and yes the initial set up cost will be high remember however that it will require people to make and run the system so more jobs. Its good sometimes to look on the positive side of life rather than be taken down by the negatives.

Oh Rob !! I didn't know that !! Good job I renewed my passport not long ago then !!! If that's not obtaining money through blackmail I don't know what is ! Actually I quite like the microchip idea ..........................I'm now off to find a vet !!! lol :0) Joan

Why don't they replace PASSPORTS and DRIVING LICENSES with ID cards? We pay for those without objection and as all the data is computerised anyway it would make sense to combine the lot. And the statement about a fine of £1000 if you don't change your address..... that's the same for driving licenses anyway! I have no objection to carrying one either. xx

Hundreds of thousands of people are already carrying them in Britain!! They are the British Forces and their dependants(Only outside of the UK) like myself!! I have had one for 5 years and never thought twice about it!! But if I had to hand out £100 out of my own pocket then no way!! Susie xx

I Have nothing against ID cards, I just do not believe that the government want them for the reason's they say they do? I like most people carry ID eg (driving license, debit/credit cards) Its just that we will never no what is going to be stored on these card or how the info will be used. Roy

The cost does seem high, but I would certainly carry one. People say they won,t stop terrorism which they won,t, but they can only assist in the fight against crime generally. My analogy is that you can eat the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but that won,t guarantee your good health - but it would certainly ward off quite a lot. Happy days

I would applaud the idea of ID Cards if they guaranteed that those people not entitled were sent out of this Country. I would object in the strongest terms to having to pay for one. Otherwise why can't we have an ID Card which doubles as a Bank Card, Passport, Driving Licence, Library Ticket, Free Bus Pass, Blockbuster Video Membership Card etc.?

Grampa, that's exactly the thought I tried and failed to put into words!! All in one card would be fab!! xx

But just think what would happen if you lost that one card, or it got stolen - you'd cease to exist!!! And you wouldn't be able to prove who you were to get a replacement. Talk about Kafka.

Completely against them: a complete nonsense. This plays on fears regarding 'security' and 'crime' but will do very little to alleviate anything. It's not applicable to people staying in this country for only a certain amount of time - which is handy if you're trying to catch or deter home-grown terrorists but does little against anyone else. As others have pointed out, the 'voluntary' status of this is complete b*ll*cks. With it being linked to passports and driving licenses I remember when government and European based schemes were designed to reduce rather than accrue the need for more and more proof of identity. Anyone remember the notion that as European citizens we could travel across Europe without passports and similar ideas? Yet now, if anything, it's going the other way. On top of this, the government have been misleading about how popular this scheme is. Specifically, with the ID card, I worry about the sheer diversity of data that will be gathered and stored. There are over 50 classes of data that are going to be referenced by the card. Not individual pieces of data, but 50 classes or types of data! Why does the government or anyone need this breadth of information? Experts in the data storage/security expect this number to actually rise as well. The government have a history of ridiculously executed IT-based schemes. Nearly every large scale IT scheme they've implemented has failed and been unworkable - costing the taxpayer billions. I don't see how, at least initially, this is going to be any different. You'll pay directly for the card - far more than government estimates - and also taxes will prop-up the scheme. Note that the government has scrapped The House of Lords ammendments to monitor the costs of the implementation of the cards. But a couple of years down the line, the government will admit it hasn't gone as well as they'd hoped - like the CSA, the NHS IT schemes etc., etc. - and start again, wasting billions. If the government can;t get an IT-based scheme right 12 months ago, why are they sure they'll get it right now? They are using the same firms - which is suspicious in itself. Why does the government keep hiring the same IT firms even though they don't deliver? Something else the government is misleading the public about is the RFID chips and their plans for them and just how secure the ID cards are anyway. A similar scheme, the Dutch biometric passport, has had it's security cracked and the data can be read from it. You're living in a country that videos/photographs you the minute you leave your house. Has data retention that covers everything you buy with a credit or debit card or when you take money from an ATM machine. Consumer profiles are built up of the things you buy through particular stores and this information is often sold on. If you're unlucky enough to be on any kind of benefits, the government has the right to go through your account and reference this with your bills etc., etc.. If you drive from one area to another, your car is recorded many times during that journey. If you use an 'Oyster' card your travel details are recorded too. This is only half the picture too...

Like most others, I agree with the idea of having ID, but do not think that we should have to pay so much for them. However, I understand that the £100 will also pay for our pass port, and no I am still not pleased about the cos.

We all carried identity cards during WW2 and they were no problem, very useful, in fact. I do object to being asked to pay for it though. Len

another thread on his subject