ID cards again for the snowflakes to whine on about...
There is no problem at all carrying an ID card, we need a national ID card. I carried one for 12 years between 1975-1987, somehow I survived this terrible ordeal and assault on democracy.
No. My comment is about ID cards in general. The subject has come up here many times, always with the overly sensitive harping on about attacking democracy and eroding their liberties. It’s nonsense.
As an aside, I wonder if the people who believe carrying ID attacks democracy are the same people as those keen on ignoring the democratic referendum in 2016.
Does any of this latest sub-topic have anything to do with Starmer? I guess anyone in favour of having ID, or not loudly against it, is a rabid tory according to the pfm massive.
To call any concern about democracy or liberty ‘overtly sensitive harping’, or any person expressing such concerns a ‘snowflake’ is reducing the argument to insult and is not an argument in support of voter ID on its merits
But from the evidence posted so far, the argument for voter ID has no merit. The arguments in favour of ID cards are entirely spurious. From 2010-16, spanning two general elections and the EU referendum, there were 146 allegations with seven people convicted, five in a single case. Voter fraud quite simply is not an issue with any evidence at all
The arguments that ID cards will have a negative effect on voting participation are based in evidence and research, research such as that from the
cabinet office itself which shows that 2.1 million people could miss their right to vote
When trial for voter ID cards were carried out a few years ago, more than
800 people were unable to vote.
On the financial side there are questions about how much ID cards will cost and who will pay for them but this government
has pledged that would-be voters who do not possess the necessary photo ID can apply to their council for a free “voter card”.
This could result in councils having to issue
3.5 million cards which will put considerable extra pressure on councils already struggling under Tory cuts and in addition will disproportionately effect those councils in poorer areas.
On the wider democratic issue, there is likely to be a high correlation between
poverty and difficulty in meeting the ID requirement. Also,
some minority communities will be disproportionately affected. The most recent data shows that people from black and south Asian backgrounds are less likely than their white peers to hold a driving licence. Older and disabled voters also number among those for whom this proposal will act as a barrier to participation.
The impediment will be felt widely across society, but the balance of discrimination would favour the Tories in an election.
To put petty insult, and petty insult alone, against the mountain of evidence that voter ID is undemocratic is just not good enough