Cameron re-commits Conservatives to scrap NIR
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme this morning, David Cameron re-stated his commitment that a future Conservative government would scrap ID Cards, the National Identity Register and ContactPoint. Listen again here (at around 12′ 10″).
October 2nd, 2008 at 09:03
Don’t believe him. I emailed the Conservatives about this during the time of Micheal Howard. I got a reply from his office saying that the Conservatives were in favour. They are only saying they are against now because they have figured out how unpopular it is. They will not reverse it though. No government ever reverses the moves of the previous government these days.
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:12
I am not so sure about that. Remember Michael Howard was always ideologically committed to ID Cards – he tried to introduce then in 1996 but they were vetoed by the cabinet which quite rightly recognised that they were a really bad idea. You are right to be sceptical and we must continue to put pressure on the Tories to make good on their promises but the present Tory front bench do appear to be from the libertarian rather than the authoritarian wing of the party. Besides there are strong pragmatic reasons for dispensing with the system. It will cost £20 billion. 2010 – 2020 will be years of depression to rival the 1930s. The government will be looking for ways to cut government expenditure. Which is more palatable: cutting the NHS or cutting ID Cards, which only a few swivel-eyed nutters actually want. Everyone wins except for the IT Consultancies and who gives a damn about them?
October 6th, 2008 at 13:13
Tories will be voted in at the next election on a mandate to abolish all sorts of stuff left behind by Labour. But the moment they form a government, they will find all sorts of European law forbids them from carrying out the promised abolitions. If you split Cameron open like a stick of Blackpool Rock, you’d find “EU at any price” written all the way through him.
As for the coming depression causing these projects to be canned, don’t even go there. This sort of control freakery is designed to ensure that the governing classes stay in power during such a depression. They don’t want any of this democracy stuff getting in the way.