Coalition just the same as Labour? they prove it everyday, now with ID cards

[alexxxxx]

Not to the full system no, but then we never knew properly what the plans were even when Labour were considering them. Not trusting any of them (with good reason and evidence provided on request) I view this with suspicion.

wasn't the ID card actually launched? i thought one could buy a card for about £20 if you really wanted it as it could be used as a passport to EU countries.

I can see the benefits to an ID card system in regards to benefits and the like as you could implement a strict policy of no ID = no cash/no anything but it is a bit of a joke how much they are abused. In italy for example you need to show your ID to buy football tickets and I believe that policemen can ask for ID whenever. I'm a shade against them as the tendency would be that it'd be compulsory to carry them at all times.

[-:Undertaker:-]

wasn't the ID card actually launched? i thought one could buy a card for about £20 if you really wanted it as it could be used as a passport to EU countries.

I can see the benefits to an ID card system in regards to benefits and the like as you could implement a strict policy of no ID = no cash/no anything but it is a bit of a joke how much they are abused. In italy for example you need to show your ID to buy football tickets and I believe that policemen can ask for ID whenever. I'm a shade against them as the tendency would be that it'd be compulsory to carry them at all times.

I'm not sure, I heard something about them being voluntary - and they had a low uptake (not suprising) and now they've sort of fizzled out.. for now.

[Chippiewill]

Not to the full system no, but then we never knew properly what the plans were even when Labour were considering them. Not trusting any of them (with good reason and evidence provided on request) I view this with suspicion.

Sorry, I don't quite understand. You are now accusing a political party of doing something that there is no or extremely little evidence of because you slightly distrust them? That's like accusing UKIP of being racist because they're sort of like the BNP.

[GommeInc]

Sorry, I don't quite understand. You are now accusing a political party of doing something that there is no or extremely little evidence of because you slightly distrust them? That's like accusing UKIP of being racist because they're sort of like the BNP.

To be fair, the Government should refrain from doing anything that chucks the identities and forced-trust of any of their citizens into their hands. The expenses scandal was evidence the country doesn't trust Government anymore and I think there is still a lack of trust when the Government is mentioned, particularly with last minute policy changes evident in the Lib Dems and the Tories.

[Chippiewill]

To be fair, the Government should refrain from doing anything that chucks the identities and forced-trust of any of their citizens into their hands. The expenses scandal was evidence the country doesn't trust Government anymore and I think there is still a lack of trust when the Government is mentioned, particularly with last minute policy changes evident in the Lib Dems and the Tories.

But this doesn't involve trusting them any-more than we already do, all they're doing is tying all the internet accounts together.

[GommeInc]

But this doesn't involve trusting them any-more than we already do, all they're doing is tying all the internet accounts together.

Is it necessary? You could say that the ID card is a waste of resources when they could easily just give you a name, number and passcode. The card part is useless Security is another issue someone brought up.

[alexxxxx]

Is it necessary? You could say that the ID card is a waste of resources when they could easily just give you a name, number and passcode. The card part is useless Security is another issue someone brought up.

there is no plan for a 'card.' The card shown is the old, short-lived identity card to try and make you think that this is somehow related to that.

it'd be great if people actually read these stories before passing judgement.

[-:Undertaker:-]

there is no plan for a 'card.' The card shown is the old, short-lived identity card to try and make you think that this is somehow related to that.

it'd be great if people actually read these stories before passing judgement.

I don't believe anyone or the paper has said the actual type of ID card that Labour proposed (and earlier on Michael Howard of the Conservatives) is returning, simply that a new national ID card type system is being implemented by a government which one of the only differences it promised between itself and the previous government was over the issue of ID cards and the big state. The worry is, especially with their strange silence over the issue, that it [this prototype] will simply morph before long to cover the entire population - all three of them as i've pointed out have their fingers in this pie.

It would be wise to follow your own advice!

[Recursion]

Are they going to make us pay for them (obviously indirectly through tax but otherwise...)? Labour was going to force everyone to literally buy them.

[alexxxxx]

I don't believe anyone or the paper has said the actual type of ID card that Labour proposed (and earlier on Michael Howard of the Conservatives) is returning, simply that a new national ID card type system is being implemented by a government which one of the only differences it promised between itself and the previous government was over the issue of ID cards and the big state. The worry is, especially with their strange silence over the issue, that it [this prototype] will simply morph before long to cover the entire population - all three of them as i've pointed out have their fingers in this pie.

It would be wise to follow your own advice!

No, you read the article. It doesn't say the government will issue ID cards, has plans to issue ID cards or anything in the sort. It says there will be an 'identity assurance' given to the government websites by a 3rd party! It says VISA have conducted trials with people logging in with their credit cards - not exactly the same thing as an ID card.

The real questions with this story is that:

1) do you trust private companies to interact with the government without over-charging
2) is the data protected from the government so they can not have 'access'
3) will the data be secure
4) will the system be more or less fraud-resistant.
5) the scope of the project (how many 'government websites' will it spread to? HMRC/NHS/DirectGov/Student Finance?)