Big Brother by the Back Door (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Big Brother by the Back Door

September 11, 2006 12:00 AM

Dear Editor

Big Brother State by the Back Door

I am deeply concerned by the way this Government is sneaking in Identity Cards by the back door.

The new Labour legislation requires anyone applying for a passport after 1st October 2006, to be interviewed, have their fingerprints taken, and give detailed information about their lives. To top it all off the Government will charge you at least £93 for the privilege of being treated like a criminal!

The Government has also neglected to publicise the fact that information collected from this process will be held on a "National Identity Register". This database will hold more personal information than any system in the world, which thousands of Government workers will have access to.

Labour has been so successful at sneaking in some of the more sinister aspects of this legislation, that most people seem blissfully unaware that the Government is collecting information about them like some deranged stalker.

The Labour Government has also neglected to highlight that the scheme will cost almost 6 BILLION pounds, at the very minimum. Put another way, that's over £200 extra in Taxes for every person in the UK. Think how many teachers, nurses and police officers that would fund.

On Saturday 9th September I and several other Lib Dem campaigners handed out leaflets to Islington residents, as part of the "No to ID" campaign. We were explaining what the Government is doing, and advising people to get their passports renewed before October. We handed out over 1000 leaflets in just 2 hours, with many residents signing a petition against the legislation.

Many Islington residents were not only appalled by what New Labour was doing, but angry that the Government was doing it in such an underhand way. To quote one of the many people we spoke to, "It's very un British!"

We urge Islington residents to sign the petition against this draconian piece of legislation at www.no2id-petition.net and renew their passports before October 1st. Passports can be renewed for a further 10 years regardless of how much time is left on the current passport.

More details about renewing a passport can be obtained from the Passport Adviceline on 0870 521 0410 or www.passport.gov.uk/passport_online.asp.

Regards

Emily Fieran-Reed

Lib Dem Councillor St Mary's Ward