Opinion polls on the British national identity card

The United Kingdom last had compulsory National Identity Cards during the Second World War when they were introduced for security purposes. As with most forms of state control, they remained in place well after the threat had passed.

Wartime ID cards were finally withdrawn by the Churchill government in 1952 because of the tension they created between the police and innocent citizens. There is no reason to believe such tension would be less today.

The last person to be prosecuted for refusing to carry an ID card was Clarence Henry Willcock. Latest polls suggest that current Government plans would create three million new ID "refuseniks".

Identity cards were re-introduced in Britain in the Identity Cards Act 2006, enacted during Tony Blair's Labour government, as part of a state-approved counterterrorism initiative by – then-Prime Minister – Tony Blair, in response to the September 11 attacks and 7/7 bombings. This was subsequently repealed by the Identity Documents Act 2010 during the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition of 2010, following opposition to ID cards from the then-Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Prime Minister David Cameron.

2003

The announcement of the scheme followed a public consultation, particularly among "stakeholder groups".[1] At March 2003 the government stated that the overall results were:

in favour: 2606 responses (61%)
against: 1587 responses (38%)
neutral: 48 responses (1%)

However the government has been criticised for ignoring the overwhelming majority of those replying who stated that they did not want national identity cards. The government claimed that over five thousand negative online responses through a single portal site, organised by stand, represented one lobby group so treated them as one reply, thus reversing what would otherwise have been recognised as an overwhelming vote against national identity cards. However, the Government claimed that many supportive organisations did not number their entire membership numbers in their submissions and thus, it would not be a true representation to include each individual submission by this campaign.

2004

Some polls have indicated that public opinion on the issue varies across the UK. The 2004 State of the Nation poll[2] by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust showed that opinion in Scotland was far less supportive than that in the rest of the UK. Although that trend is reversed in other polls.

In a poll for Detica conducted by MORI in March 2004[3] showed that 80% of those polled were in favour of a national identity card (11% opposed), although 67% of them have little or no knowledge about the Government's proposed national ID card scheme. Furthermore, only 54% were prepared to pay for a card, with 80% unwilling to pay more than £25. 83% were in favour of carrying the card at all times, though only 44% were in favour of the police being given powers to see it on demand. 58% doubted that the Government could bring in such a scheme smoothly.

In May 2004 a YouGov poll for Privacy International[4] indicated that 61% of the population supported compulsory identity cards. However, in respect of the database maintenance elements, 47% opposed the legal requirement to notify a change of address (compared to 41% in favour), while 45% were against the legal requirement to report lost, stolen or damaged cards (44% in favour). 27% of those polled were 'strongly opposed' to fines. In the under 30 age group, 61% were opposed to fines. Of those opposing the scheme (percentage unstated), 28% would take part in demonstrations, 16% would take part in civil disobedience, and 6% would prefer prison to registering.

2005

Meeting in London against ID cards, 2005.

National opinion polls suggest that the expected cost of the cards affects levels of support. An estimate from the Home Office placed the cost of a 10-year passport and ID card package at £85, while after the 2005 General Election in May 2005 they issued a revised figure of over £93,[5] and announced that a "standalone" ID card would cost £30.[6] Two polls conducted by TNS at the end of 2005 amongst British Citizens and Foreign Residents demonstrated over 65% support for identity cards backed by a central database with a cost of an identity card at £30 and a passport/identity card package at approximately £100 . However, the research conducted by MORI in 2004 showed that only 20% were willing to pay more than £25. The publicised costs also do not include an estimated £30 for processing fees, making the total costs up to £60 for a standalone card, and £123 for a passport/identity card.[7]

A 2005 poll on the BBC web site indicated that of the nearly 9,000 voting, 17% were in favour, 83% against . However, internet polls cannot be considered as being very reliable - indeed, the wording under the poll result states that results of such polls cannot be taken as indicative of public opinion.

Before the July 2005 London bombings, a Telegraph/YouGov poll[8] showed that 66% of people were opposed to the scheme if it cost £6bn and 81% opposed if it cost £10-19bn. However, the questions in such polls have often failed to reflect that the costs issued by the Government already included the running costs of the existing Passport Service.

The NO2ID opposition group announced in September 2005 that 11,369 people have pledged to refuse to register for an ID card and will donate £10 to a legal defence fund if the Bill becomes law.

2006

In February 2006, a YouGov/Daily Telegraph poll[9] indicated that public support for the scheme had fallen to 52% (with 37% opposed), despite 60% of those polled stating that those with nothing to hide should have no objection to the scheme. It revealed that the following percentages of people thought that the scheme would:

At the same time, it showed that the following percentages thought:

In July 2006, an ICM poll[10] indicated that public support had fallen further to 46%, with opposition growing to 51%:

Q1. The government has proposed the introduction of identity cards that in combination with your passport, will cost around £93. From what you have seen or heard do you think the proposal is...?
  • Very good idea 12%
  • Good idea 34%
  • Bad idea 29%
  • Very bad idea 22%

Q2. As part of the National Identity Scheme the government has also proposed that everyone is required to attend an interview to give personal details about themselves for use by the police, tax authorities and all other government departments. From what you have seen or heard do you think that this is a..?

  • Very good idea 10%
  • Good idea 31%
  • Bad idea 33%
  • Very bad idea 23%

A further poll by YouGov/Daily Telegraph, published on December 4, 2006, indicated support for the identity card element of the scheme at 50%, with 39% opposed. Support for the national database was weaker, with 41% happy and 52% unhappy with the prospect of having their data recorded. Only 11% trusted the government to keep the data confidential. 3.12% of the sample were prepared to undergo long prison sentences rather than have a card.[11]

Identity cards were re-introduced in Britain in the Identity Cards Act 2006, enacted during Tony Blair's Labour government, as part of a state-approved counterterrorism initiative (part of the War on Terror) by – then-Prime Minister – Tony Blair, in response to the September 11 attacks and 7/7 bombings.

NO2ID grew rapidly during the initial Parliamentary battle against the UK ID cards legislation which, after the first Bill fell having failed to be passed before the general election in May 2005, was re-introduced and passed as the Identity Cards Act 2006 in March 2006. At that point, NO2ID had around 30,000 registered supporters and a network of around 100 other supportive organisations.[12] In May 2006, NO2ID launched the "Renew for Freedom" campaign,[13] urging passport holders to renew their passports in the summer of 2006 to delay being entered on the National Identity Register. This followed the comment made by Charles Clarke in the House of Commons that "anyone who feels strongly enough about the linkage [between passports and the ID scheme] not to want to be issued with an ID card in the initial phase will be free to surrender their existing passport and apply for a new passport before the designation order takes effect".[14]

In response, the Home Office said that it was "hard to see what would be achieved, other than incurring unnecessary expense" by renewing passports early.[15] However, the cost of a passport was £51 at the time, then increased in 2006 and 2007 to £72 and was due to rise to £93 after the introduction of ID cards.

2007

On 14 November 2007, the NO2ID opposition group called for financial donations from the 11,360 people who had pledged to contribute to a fighting fund opposing the legislation.[16] The organisation planned to challenge the statutory instruments that will be brought in to enable the ID card scheme.[17]

Baroness Williams and Nick Clegg said in 2007 that they would take part in civil disobedience campaigns by refusing to register for an ID card, or to attend photographic sittings.[18]

2008

As of December 2008, NO2ID had some 60,000 registered supporters and active groups in most major cities and many towns across the UK. Although policy on passports and the National Identity Scheme was not an area devolved to the Scottish Government, on 19 November 2008 the Scottish Parliament voted[19] to reject the ID card scheme, with no votes against the government motion, and only the Scottish Labour MSPs abstaining.

2010

The reinstatement of identity cards put forward by the Blair ministry was repealed by the Identity Documents Act 2010 during the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition of 2010, following opposition to ID cards from the then-Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Prime Minister David Cameron. Although the Act ends the validity of ID cards as travel documents, no action will be taken to withdraw the National Identity Cards already issued.[20]

At the introduction of the Identity Documents Bill by the coalition government in June 2010, former Home Secretary David Blunkett acknowledged the success of the campaign, saying that: "I need to be contrite enough to congratulate Phil Booth from NO2ID, Dr Whitley from the London School of Economics identity project, and others, for the tremendous campaign that they have run, over the past five years in particular, to stop this scheme."[21]

References

  1. ↑ pdf.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "mori". mori.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2015.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Tempest, Matthew (May 25, 2005). "ID card cost soars as new bill published". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Q&A: Identity cards". BBC News. July 2, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Retailers reject ID security fear". BBC News. May 6, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  8. ↑ "YouGov | What the world thinks". yougov.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "YouGov | What the world thinks". yougov.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2015.
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ "YouGov | What the world thinks". yougov.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "our supporters » NO2ID". no2id.net.
  13. ↑ "renew your passport". renew for freedom. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  14. ↑ "I beg to move, That this House does...: 21 Mar 2006: House of Commons debates". TheyWorkForYou.com. 20 December 2004. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  15. ↑ "Politics | Home Office questions ID protest". BBC News. 25 May 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  16. ↑ Calling in NO2ID's pledge "refuse", 14 November 2007
  17. ↑ No2ID calls in pledge cash to 'probe' ID Act's enabling laws, The Register, 15 November 2007
  18. ↑ "Peer 'ready to defy ID card law'". BBC News Online. 10 November 2007.
  19. ↑ Holyrood rejects identity cards, BBC News, 19 November 2008
  20. ↑ Cancellation of identity cards: FAQs Identity and Passport Service
  21. ↑ Hansard. "HC Deb, 9 June 2010, c365".
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/12/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.