Polls & Research

Fewer Britons Support ID Card Scheme

- Fewer adults in Britain agree with a plan to implement a system of national identity cards, according to a poll by ICM Research for No2ID. 46 per cent of respondents think the proposal is a good idea, down six points since February.

In 2004, home secretary David Blunkett strongly campaigned in favour of the national identity card system. The plan contemplates setting up a database that would contain the fingerprints and/or eye scan of every single person in Britain. The government estimates that the full implementation of the plan will cost $10.5 billion U.S. over the next 10 years.

In February, the House of Commons voted 310-279 to approve the introduction of national identity cards in 2008. The plans call for every person who applies to get a new passport to also receive an identity card, with their biometric details stored on a central register. In March, the House of Lords approved a compromise which delays the implementation of the system until 2010.

On Jul. 11, British prime minister Tony Blair said his government "certainly will proceed to introduce ID cards." Conservative leader David Cameron disagreed with the prime minister, saying, "Everyone apart from you knows this project is in deep trouble. The civil servant responsible for delivering it says it's being delayed. Another one says it's impossible to imagine the full scheme being brought in by 2026."

On Jul. 7, 2005, four blasts in London killed at least 53 people and injured 700 more. Investigators say three British nationals of Pakistani descent and a Jamaican-born man were responsible for the explosions at three underground stations and a double-decker bus. Authorities believe the event was a coordinated suicide bombing, the first to ever occur in Western Europe.

Polling Data

The government has proposed the introduction of identity cards that, in combination with your passport, will cost around $163 U.S. From what you have seen or heard do you think that this proposal is a ...?