Jacqui Smith, The Charlatan Poseur

The political nomenclature of today throws up some rather interesting results when one begins to scrutinize New Labour. Leadership has been substituted with political ignobility, and frankness, with that of subterfuge. The most deleterious act this week, would have to be the failure of Parliament to live up to its promise of giving us the people the right to vote in a referendum, on the European Constitution. I am mindful to point out that this was promised by all major parties in the last general election.

Cowardice's it seems, knows no lower boundry. Just when you though this government could sink no further, they surprise you. I refer to this governments fervent belief that George Orwell’s novel, “Nineteen Eighty-Four” was a treatise to be adopted. New Labour it appears, are determined to whittle us down to nothing more than a bar code, supporting as they do the implementation of identity cards.

The most interesting fact to come out of the whole discussion on ID cards, is that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is using the “back door”, to get the ID card into the building. This “sleight of hand” would make even Robert Houdin blush!

What is most egregious of all, is the copious amounts of unnecessary and intrusive information that the government wishes to collect on us. Name and address just will not suffice this insatiable appetite to “know us just a little better”.

As a voter, I am deeply concerned with the government’s impetus to implement ID cards and I can’t for the life of me determine why they feel it a necessity to collect the amount of information they intend. My “red line” has been drawn firmly, boldly and forcibly on the topic of biometric data collection. Why the government feels my DNA is their property I will never understand.

If you had asked me about a year ago, was I in favour of identity cards, I would have said yes. However in light of the events of the last 12 months, the government has proven beyond all reasonable doubt, that they are incompetent and indifferent with we the citizens personal data. I could no longer support this position. When you couple this fact with the notion that the government had always intended to go further with the information that they wish to collect, I could only come to the conclusion that permission would be tantamount to ascribing the Orwellian premise.

For all the talk that Jacqui Smith puts out, with her promise to engage with the people on this topic, one can’ help but conclude that she, and New Labour to which she represent at its upper echelons, is nothing more than a charlatan poseur. We all fell this once; it won’t be second time lucky!