There has been much speculation about the scrapping of the ID cards policy in recent days (here and here) - and an especially fatuous analysis of the politics of this from the BBC. Here I stand by my previous analysis about this which is a matter of record (for example here). For a variety of reasons (principally concerned with political calculation) the Great Bottler has always been lukewarm about the whole ghastly project. In the current climate, I would go further; he will be calculating that it would be in his (and New Labour's) best interests to neutralise the electoral liability that they represent (all the more so in the wake of the HMRC fiasco). Nevertheless he will only move on the issue at a time of his choosing when he reckons both that he will not be seen as a 'victim' of events and when he can maximise the potential political advantage of doing so. That said, I am prepared to concede that the looming prospect of them being kicked into the long grass has probably edged somewhat closer.
But - and it's a massive but - ID cards are merely the visible part of a huge iceberg - it's what we can't see under the surface of the water that really matters. Those excellent bods at No2ID (and many others) are only too well aware of this - in deliberately choosing to target the whole "database state" rather than ID cards in isolation. Indeed, the Great Bottler is no doubt equally well aware of this (which may in part explain his diffidence on the subject thus far) and will be factoring this in to his eventual decision about the policy. The stark reality - and sad truth - is that, however desirable the scrapping of ID cards may be, their demise will do nothing to exorcise a principal plank of policy that causes the greatest degree of concern: i.e. the availability to Government of a comprehensive digital footprint of our whole-life experience in the minutest detail. So, the passport database, eventually covering round about 80% of the UK population (after all it was always intended that this would provide the backbone to the National Identity Register), will continue to exist and operate. Legislative provision for serial data-sharing across Government continues relatively unabated. Et cetera, et cetera. And, if a little ironically, what makes all of this so much worse is that the accountability and transparency of the regime - as compared with the situation that would exist with full implementation of ID cards - is all but non-existent. Again this may explain why the Great Bottler is attracted to this approach as to all intents and purposes it is the delivery of the policy by stealth, something that he has proved himself to be especially adept at over the years!
What is is frustrating - and depressing - is that our politicos, for all their high-minded rhetoric in opposition to ID cards, appear to be either unable or unwilling to recognise this (e.g. Calamity Clegg's grandstanding on the issue a few weeks ago). I can't help feeling that all of us would be very much more comfortable about our political process if those engaged in it could at least exhibit a full grasp of the issues facing them; indeed, that might inspire us to respect them a little more!
And what is now required above all else - a persistent theme of mine - is a root-and-branch re-think of the whole sorry mess of identity/data management by, for and on behalf of government, together with new primary legislation to attend to these matters in a coherent way. Will any of the parties have either the wisdom or courage to grasp this nettle? I'm not holding my breath!
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