#IDCards why the UK need compulsory cards

Sometimes something seems glaringly obvious. We have no universal ID system in the UK. It causes so many problems and makes life so difficult for the authorities - and consequently us - the tax payer and law abiding citizens (with nothing to fear). We need one. We need a national ID card in some form.

Introducing a UK wide compulsory ID scheme is not a new idea - in fact we had them in both the 1st and 2nd World Wars. The last scheme was ended in 1952 largely because people resented being asked to produce them by the police. It was also looked at by the Conservatives in the mid 1990's. Various schemes were discussed but not proceeded with because of priorities and political expediency it seems.

Those that are anti a compulsory scheme have made the following arguments against :

• It would be expensive.
• They could be forged.
• A citizen has a right to privacy.
• They could infringe civil liberties.
• To be really helpful they would have to be carried compulsorily.
• They could be used by the police to target certain communities and would cause resentment and a breakdown in public trust in authority.
• The information contained on a modern sophisticated card would increase and could be misused.
• They do not work - no evidence they significantly cut crime/fraud or would help much in dealing with immigration or terrorism.
• Perceived benefits are outweighed by the disadvantages.

I have always strongly supported the idea of ID cards. However my view is the world has changed dramatically in the last 20 years and I feel they are even more essential now.. To start off we do not know who is in our country and what their entitlements are. Immigration and migration has been in unprecedented - vast numbers - and uncontrolled of course. We know extremist violence has become a much greater threat and that threat is unlikely to go away. We also know human resources are very much in short supply because of wage and salary costs. Our institutions and public services are increasingly required to do more for less and need every help they can get in order to keep the UK safe and viable. I also feel we are in the main totally fed up with the "liberal elite". These are the people promoting individual "human rights" in such a blinkered manner and to such a naïve extent that we are losing amongst other things - our collective nationhood, our self confidence, our freedom of speech and our solvency. A properly introduced and applied ID scheme will help to redress this balance because the pendulum has swung far too far in the favor of individual over every other societal consideration.

The benefits of a modern, comprehensive and compulsory ID card scheme would be :

• Biometrics - now commonplace and well used would cut out fraud.
• Chip technology will massively reduce costs of implementation.
• We already have to produce ID regularly. Many people (often the "poor") do not have a passport or driving licence. An ID card would make life easier not disadvantage the poor as some argue.
• ID cards are favored by the Police and other agencies because they are efficient and practical as a means of checking ID. They would help reduce the difficulty (time and money) of essential ID checks that protect society. Carrying a card is a small price to pay. Most people carry bank cards and mobile phones. It is not a massive imposition.
• There is a problem with illegal immigration in the UK. We need a system where if you cannot produce a valid ID card or a passport - then the presumption should be you are here illegally. Applying for a UK ID card should be a primary step for an asylum seeker/migrant.
• Health tourism is an issue - as is benefit entitlement - school place entitlement etc. An ID card would be a pain free - quick and efficient way of determining validity of claimants. It would save millions in time checking and by cutting out bogus claims.
• The vast law abiding majority would have no problem with ID cards. Their priority is efficiency and safety. The public in the main have nothing to hide (see Facebook) - and are used to chip technology and card checks. They know they can be tracked by their mobile phones for instance. They know Google gather information through online searches. It is only the liberal paranoid elite and criminals that see this as a problem.
• Racial profiling and stop and search have been a problem. The Police and authorities now have a much better understanding of the sensitivities around these issues. ID card checks do not have to be very intrusive - on the contrary they would make ID checks very simple and uncontroversial unless you are out of step with society or sheer bloody minded.
• The public believe that increasingly the country is running out of control. This may be perception or reality. It does not matter which. An ID card would evidence better control. It would be very beneficial to the nations psyche. No one likes feeling being ripped off.

I believe the time and money would be well spent. It would be essential when we roll it out we make it a priority and therefore we would have to put the resources in to do it quickly. The benefits would be massive in the modern world.