UK: Government to cancel ID cards and the national database?

From the Identity & Passport Service (IPS) website:

Both Parties that now form the new Government stated in their manifestos that they will cancel Identity Cards and the National Identity Register. We will announce in due course how this will be achieved. Applications can continue to be made for ID cards but we would advise anyone thinking of applying to wait for further announcements.

Until Parliament agrees otherwise, identity cards remain valid and as such can still be used as an identity document and for travel within Europe. We will update you with further information as soon as we have it.

I can’t help thinking that this simply isn’t going to happen and I wonder which bright spark at the IPS thought it would be amusing to put this up on the website. Time and again party political manifestos have been proved to be worthless documents, full of empty promises made in varying degrees of desperation by cynical and manipulative politicians to try and con gullible voters ahead of an election.

No, for one thing, too much has already been spent on this and, let’s be honest, the ID cards aspect is only the tabloid-friendly xenophobic dog whistle, the diversionary tactic, to distract attention from the implementation of the national database so necessary to the creation of the totalitarian state so beloved of central government. Also, the national database is already live – and potentially too lucrative – to the control freaks who run the country for them to just abandon it. Additionally, the whole thing is too closely linked to the whole biometrics/”national security” issue for one to be scrapped whilst retaining the other – I mean, where would all those body scanner images from airport passport control be stored if the national database was deleted?

Government to cancel ID cards and the national database? Yehrite…

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Previous, related posts about ID cards and the national database:

• ID cards now available to people living in Manchester (November 30, 2009)
• Sic transit gloria ID? (August 10, 2009)
• ID card design unveiled (August 1, 2009)
• UK government publishes response to ID cards petition (July 27, 2009)
• ID cards trial scheme to be voluntary (June 30, 2009)
• Manchester ‘launch’ for ID cards (May 6, 2009)
• ID Theft? (April 8, 2009)
• National ID Card Petition (February 7, 2009)
• ID Cards update (November 24, 2008)

Previous, related posts about body scanners:

• Facial recognition technology for Heathrow airport next year (December 1, 2009)
• Psst… You want to see some dirrrty pictures? (October 20, 2009)
• No match, no flight (August 14, 2009)
• Say cheese (April 28, 2009)

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