White Rose is a protest blog collective focusing on civil liberties in the UK.
It was set up to point a finger at the erosion of personal freedom in the UK.
Government's active measures introduce new means of control such as identity cards and surveillance cameras, the passive measures such as weakening of double jeopardy and presumption of innocence.


The arguments
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Gabriel Syme and Perry de Havilland of Samizdata.net to rally the Anglosphere behind the UK.
White Rose contributors are those bloggers and non-bloggers who oppose restrictions on personal liberties.

To find out how to become a White Rose contributor, please go here.
Monday, April 05, 2004
Compulsory ID Cards "By 2008"
Trevor Mendham (The Chestnut Tree Cafe)
(0)   Identity cards

The Independent reports that ID Cards could be compulsory within less than five years. This is much sooner than the ten year cooling off period originally agreed by Cabinet. Blunkett's scheme apparently has Tony Blair's personal support.

A draft Bill will be introduced next month with legislation proper in the November 2005 session (assuming Labour are still in power). The "fast track" Bill will allow compulsion to be introduced without further legislation being necessary, probably by 2008.

The Independent also reports an unnamed Minister repeating Blair's line that "The argument has moved on from concern about civil liberties".

It hasn't.

The civil liberties issues with ID cards are just as strong today as they were fifty years ago. If the Government doesn't want to talk about them then we must do so, loudly and publicly. We need to make this an election issue.

If we give up our civil liberties then the terrorists will have won.

Cross-posted from The Chestnut Tree Cafe


Comments

I agree with you whole-heartedly, especially with the last sentiment. The terrorist hate our way life here in the West and therefore by giving up the very liberties that they despise we would be giving in. Basically it would be admitting that the liberal democratic way of doing things doesn't work properly and showing that our government is every bit as willing as theirs to take away our civil liberties for the sake of stability.

Posted by: cessair on April 7, 2004 12:15 PM

Your web page says that UK ID cards should be an election issue. I agree. But saying that won't make it happen. Please update your web pages to show how ignorant or otherwise the political parties are on the issue and how this can be changed. This would include ways to contact them, the right people to contact, whether it is best to email or use snail-mail etc.

Posted by: Andrew Marlow on April 12, 2004 11:47 AM

I have emailed the Conservatives and they are also in favour of ID cards. So it looks like it cannot be made into an election issue. Here is the response I got from Michael Howard's office:
---
In particular, we accept that the
practical problems presented by ID cards are immense. Nonetheless, we
believe that if a scheme can overcome these problems without sacrificing our
civil liberties, ID cards should be introduced soon, not in ten years' time.
---

Regards,

Andrew Marlow

Posted by: Andrew Marlow on May 15, 2004 10:07 AM
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