National ID Cards

dzug1

peachyprice wrote: »

Ok, next time I try to board my regular ferry from Dover to Dunkerque I shall tell them they don't need to swipe my passport like they normally do, do you think they will let me on?;)

.

Exactly who are THEY in this context?

UK immigration have never but never swiped or even looked at my passport whenever I have left the UK. Sometimes security officials have - and airline/ferry staff have looked at it - but never immigration.

dzug1

garethni wrote: »

What I cannot understand is why it is not possible just to have a card without fingerprints etc which could be used for travel within the EU. If the ID card issuing machines are there, could these not be kept for issuing a handy little ID card which is no more compulsory than a passport, but wallet sized and handier?

It is possible.

There is neither the political will nor the finance available to do it.

garethni

dzug1 wrote: »

Exactly who are THEY in this context?

UK immigration have never but never swiped or even looked at my passport whenever I have left the UK. Sometimes security officials have - and airline/ferry staff have looked at it - but never immigration.

The coalition agreement says they are going to reintroduce disembarkation controls for all travellers - maybe they will start scanning all the documents again.

dzug1 wrote: »

It is possible.

There is neither the political will nor the finance available to do it.

If they need to have the infrastructure to issue hi-tech passports like the current ones, I wonder if it would cost all that much more. The new passport application software system which was part of the ID cards contract is apparently going to be kept anyway.

jammin_2

garethni wrote: »

The coalition agreement says they are going to reintroduce disembarkation controls for all travellers - maybe they will start scanning all the documents again.

That would be a waste of time and money, as it is impossible to implement on every UK border.

jim_walton

Labour MP Paul Goggins is campaigning for those who have already bought national ID cards to get a refund after the government announced it will scrap the scheme.

Support his efforts..

alleycat`

O the comedy a labour MP who voted for something they knew was going to get scrapped.
They hell for leather tried to ram through a steaming pile of pap with utterly awful, badly loaded contracts to try and tie the hands of any government that wanted to bin it (aka everyone but labour).
They now want the conlibs to do the right thing that they could never do themselves?

I almost spat my tea laughing at the very idea.

I suggest he, and brown and co pay back the millions they've squandered on something that was never required (in the form proposed).

If they'd kept it simple (and stopped pretending it needed fingerprints and the god awful database behind it) none of this mess would have happened.

If anyone volunteers for something that you know has a better than average chance of getting binned, well you get what you deserve.

In essence it is about £17,000 down the pan for every card issued and i can't work out why so many turkeys would vote for christmas and then complain about getting stuffed.

jim_walton

I can't understand why the condems would want to compensate for equitable life and not ID cards. My Grandad told me never to volunteer for anything except giving blood..

garethni

alleycat` wrote: »

If they'd kept it simple (and stopped pretending it needed fingerprints and the god awful database behind it) none of this mess would have happened.

Maybe applicants thought that when push came to shove and given the money invested in the scheme, this new sensible government would then make it simple, cut the stupid bits out and keep issuing an otherwise useful document - recouping some of the costs!

quickpost

So, in labours alternative universe, if the price of the cards increased to £70 would those that bought them for £30 offer to pay £40 more.

You gambled, wasted your time and money, and lost.

Only reason they were rolled out cheaply was to gain enough support to force a mass forced rollout. Whilst all this was going on labour were spending billions on process centres, staff training, rolling out the hardware and software and doing their uttermost to try to ensure the contracts were so loaded in favour of IT consultancies (the people who have made £10s of millions trying to implement the unimplementable) that the process couldn't be stopped.

Anyways, this is the Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning board, not the "I want my money back" one.

garethni

quickpost wrote: »

So, in labours alternative universe, if the price of the cards increased to £70 would those that bought them for £30 offer to pay £40 more.
....
Anyways, this is the Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning board, not the "I want my money back" one.

I did not start this thread, but I suppose the logic was that ID cards = passport alternatives, and passports are required for holidays - hence being in this holiday forum.

Personally, I would pay happily a bit more for an ID card, and would then not need a passport as I do not really intend for the foreseeable future to go outside those countries for which an ID card would be accepted. It would be better for sticking into the wallet on my holiday/business trip.