Lib Dems fight plans for ID cards in Beds

Posted on December 14, 2006

Liberal Democrats on Bedfordshire County Council are calling on the council to resist the government's introduction of identity cards.

Deputy leader of the Lib Dem Group Cllr Susan Gaszczak has put a motion to the council to ensure that residents' data is protected and access to services will not require ID cards.

Cllr Gaszczak said "ID cards are expensive, intrusive and ineffective. They will cost each person approximately £200-£290 in taxes that they have already paid and £90 to obtain their ID cards.

They will contain huge amounts of personal data that will be readable by many different organisations.

"ID cards will only increase identity theft. They have already proved to be ineffective. In Madrid and New York, the bombers had ID cards."

The motion calls upon the county council not to require residents to have an ID card to access services unless the law requires them to do so and that the council will oppose the introduction of these cards.

It states: "This waste of money, time and privacy should be stopped and the more people, councils and organisations who stand against them the more forcefully the point will be put across."

The executive committee will consider the proposal at a meeting on January 30. They will then feed back their comments to the full council, who will discuss the matter at their next meeting in February.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 12 December 2006