Greens Lead Scottish Revolt Against Westminster Id Cards
Thu., February 24, 2005. 17:00.
Labour in disarray and Libdems abstain as Parliament votes 52 to 47 in support of Greens
Patrick No To ID
Greens have today scored a landmark victory in their campaign against ID cards, when the parliament voted for their motion to reject ID Cards and demanded a statement from the Scottish Executive on the use of a proposed national identity database in Scotland.
The Libdems played party politics and abstained on the vote for the green motion, with a spurious argument over the implication of the word 'notes'. However with support from the SNP, Tories, SSP, Independents and at least one Labour rebel, the Green motion was approved by a majority of 5 (1)
Green MSP Patrick Harvie, a leading campaigner on ID cards in the Scottish Parliament said: "This is a significant achievement for the Scottish Green Party and reminds politicians and commentators alike that the Greens are rooted in the politics of justice and equality as well as in caring for the environment. The Libdems position was sadly rooted in shallow politics and it is a shame they put their own party interests before putting their weight behind the campaign against ID cards.
"This vote serves up a challenge for the Executive. Will it listen to the will of the Scottish Parliament and object to the introduction of this flawed scheme? The ID card and national database scheme is seriously flawed, will undermine civil liberties, be costly and will not tackle terrorism. On the issue of benefit fraud, it is little more than a distraction from the billions that go unclaimed every year."
"Fifty three years ago, the UK abolished identity cards, which had slowly crept into many areas of life. Labour's new bill is a backward step which offers no real benefit to our society and I am delighted the parliament is attempting to make a stand against the will of New Labour."
"As requested by Parliament, the Executive must now make a statement as to how it will use the ID database in Scotland and I now submitted a parliamentary question requesting that statement."
Scottish Greens today launched a new poster campaign on ID cards, unveiled outside the Scottish Parliament today. The posters parody the New Labour election posters.(2) At the protest prior to the debate, larger-than-life-size ID cards were destroyed by Patrick Harvie MSP, who intends not to participate in their introduction.
Greens argue that ID cards will:
- Be costly and impractical: There is scepticism about the cost and operability of the scheme(£5.5bn and rising), as well as the government's ability to manage the technology. Large government IT projects are renowned for cost over-runs and technical hitches. This will be the most ambitious such project in history.
- Lead to loss of privacy: There will be a massive database containing an unprecedented amount of personal information on people.
- Worsen harassment of minority groups: They'll provide another pretext for stop-and-search, often directed at ethnic minorities
- Have little impact on counter-terrorism: Terrorist networks would soon be able to produce counterfeit cards or papers enabling people to get legitimate cards. While Home Secretary, David Blunkett admitted that it would be possible to register for a card using a false identity, but was satisfied that a person would then "be stuck with it for life". How much of a problem would this really be for a suicide bomber?
- Have little effect on illegal working: Employers who are already willing to break the law won't be put off by identity cards.
- Be subject to 'function creep': The functions of the card will grow over time as it stores more personal information. More agencies will demand to see it, effectively making it necessary for people to carry one.
Notes
(1) The vote was 52 for, 47 against, 15 abstentions.
Motion agreed by the Parliament: *S2M-2463 Patrick Harvie: Identity Cards-That the Parliament notes the Identity Cards Bill currently being considered by the Westminster Parliament; is concerned at the lack of time devoted to the scrutiny of this Bill, which has left important questions unanswered over how the identity card scheme will work in practice; believes the proposals to be flawed on political, technical and financial grounds; is concerned that the national identity card and database offer an ineffective response to problems of security and fraud and pose an unacceptable threat to civil liberties; notes that the current cost estimate for the scheme is £5.5 billion and that further escalation of this cost is expected; rejects the Prime Minister's belief, stated on 1 December 2004 in the House of Commons, that "it is legitimate and right, in this day and age, to ask people to carry identity cards" which appears to go far beyond the current scope of the Bill and would require the consent of the Scottish Parliament; welcomes the Scottish Executive's position that identity cards will not be required to allow access to devolved public services, and calls on the Executive to make a full statement on the intended use of the identity database by devolved institutions.
(2) For information about No2ID go to: http://www.no2id.net
Contact the Scottish Greens' press team on 07909 933 074.