Next week there will be elections again across the UK – a more or less normal event after a certain period of time. But for many potential voters it will be different this time because, in order to cast their vote, they will have to present a photo-ID first. So, where is the problem? Just show your ID card …
Ah, there is no ID card! The UK is one of the few countries where citizens do not have an ID card (or equivalent document). And why is this? For a non-UK citizen this is difficult to understand.
ID cards
When I got to the age of 16, I was quite proud that now I could have my very own ID card. This proved that I was now a ‘person’ (with some rights and obligations) and no longer only a ‘dependant’ of somebody else, who had a certain responsibility for me (like parents or teachers). It was not yet the full ‘freedom’, because that could only be granted at the age of 18. But it was an important step on the way.
With this ID card I could do several things I was not able and allowed to do without it. I could go to cinemas and watch movies with a certain age restriction. I could travel into other countries. And other things. When I was 18 the ID card proved that I now had additional rights. I could, for example, legally buy alcohol or cigarettes. (Both I did not do at the time, but I had at least the right to do it, and I could prove this with an official document.)
My first passport I got in 1984 at the age of 38, because I had to travel to the USA, and for this a passport and a visa was required. But up to then I had already visited at least a dozen European countries on holidays or on business trips. Doing this with an ID card was no problem whatsoever.
ID in the UK
Things became different when I moved to the UK in 1996. Of course, at that time I had my passport, and with that an official identification document. But, in some situations, I was still asked to provide additional ‘ID information’, like a utility bill, bank statements, driving license etc. I have never understood how and why one of these ‘papers’ could provide an identification.
Asking a (very Conservative) friend why the UK does not provide ID cards, he said “Oh, that is a terrible idea. It’s Big Brother watching you. It’s like handcuffs. The possible abuse …” and similar expressions.
Why? I asked. The ID card does not contain any ‘secret’ information. Full name, date of birth, current address, nationality; all information which is already held on many systems. If I have to provide a utility bill or a bank statement for ID purposes, then I provide more information about myself than necessary, and more than an ID card would do. And utility bills or similar ‘documents’ can nowadays easily be ‘created’ by somebody with an average knowledge of computers.
Privacy and personal information
People have no problems providing personal information when they start a subscription for something, when they register for a service or buy something online. And when they’re willing to get a ‘loyalty card’ or something similar from a supermarket. With this they give the company also the ability to build a ‘profile’ of the customer: what they buy; how often; where they shop; when they shop; how much they spend; a link to credit card information etc.
And they give permission that – without telling or asking them – some of this information can be handed over to other companies or organisations. I will not go into all the problems linked to ‘electronic wallets’ on mobile phones etc. Or to the information which, for example, Google or social media like Facebook or Instagram have on people.
So, what are the problems with ID cards? I do not understand. My friend couldn’t give me an answer. And I have not yet seen a valid argument against them anywhere.
For almost 20 years I’ve been living in another EU state (fortunately I left the UK well before Brexit.) This country has ID cards, but – like most countries – only for its own nationals. As a ‘foreigner’ I have my passport and the permanent residency document. This should be sufficient. But because the country has a certain British history, and because in a very bureaucratic way, the government and other organisations like to collect papers of all kinds, sometimes I’m still asked to provide a utility bill or something similar, without any information what it can prove.
Abusing ID to restrict freedoms
Many people have several, and maybe even a dozen or so ID cards (some of them with a photo) when they are members of clubs, organisations, political parties etc. So, what are the reasons for NOT having ID cards issued by the state (which are basically only membership cards of this state)? I can’t see any.
However, I believe that when it comes to elections, the requirement to provide voter ID – and the limitations in what counts as ID, that favours certain demographics over others – is a deliberate attempt to exclude a certain group of people from executing their democratic right to vote. Sadly, this is in line with the general trend in the UK to restrict personal rights and freedoms (though notably, not in Scotland).
(My first ID card had only one drawback: it was issued by a country that I don’t like. Unfortunately, nobody has ever asked me in which country I wanted to be born.)
