As ID cards arrive in Manchester, Exeter No2ID says volunteers to the scheme face a costly, life-long commitment

By PRSD, on Monday, November 30, 2009

The Exeter branch of No2ID have got in touch so say ID cards arrived in Manchester today (Monday, November 30), with indications that most of the populous aren’t willing to sign up to the life-time costly addition to their passports.

The Home Office has announced that residents of Greater Manchester will be able to apply for a National Identity Card from today (Monday, November 30), but Exeter No2ID says: “It is quieter about the fact that this also means registering – for life – on the National Identity Register.

“Very few applicants are expected, in any case. Just 2,000 Mancunians have ‘expressed an interest’ via the government’s ID card website, less than a tenth of one percent of the city’s population. An informal poll by the Manchester Evening News website during a webchat with Meg Hillier, Minister for Identity, showed 96% of readers had no intention of applying.

“The government’s latest selling wheeze is that the card will be a ‘convenient’ proof of age for nightclubs and bars, and a cheap European travel document. This despite the fact that an ID registration costing £30 is three times more than any of the officially-endorsed ‘PASS’ cards, involves being fingerprinted, and comes with a lifetime of compliance, fees, and penalties.”

Home Office claims that the card is a ‘cheaper’ alternative passport are also odd, according to Exeter No2ID. Only if you have a current full passport (£77.50) are you allowed to register for an ID card. The combined cost is already over £100. The Home Office now absorbs the cost of fingerprinting, but eventually a further £25 to £30 a time will be passed on to the consumer, they say.

• Signing up for an ID card? Let us know why – or why not. Comments below, please