Labour candidates reply to ID cards letter

In April I wrote to all 10 local election candidates in the William Morris ward of Waltham Forest Council to ask about their attitude to ID cards. These are the replies of the Laboour candidates:

1. Geraldine Reardon

Thank you for your letter of 9 April. I share your concerns with the ID Cards Bill. In Walthamstow Labour Party we have had regular discussions about the Bill with Neil Gerrard.

If a motion, such as the one put to Cambridge City Council were proposed to Waltham Forest Council, I would want to support it. However, as you know, each member of Labour Group is bound to obey the Whip and I could only vote if Labour Group supported the proposal. Therefore, beforehand I would have to make sure that Labour Group were in favour of the motion.

My concerns are that a national register will not be voluntary, that compulsion is built into it its implementation, and that it will inevitably encroach on other aspects of our lives. I also don't believe it will do anything to prevent terrorism and will cost a huge amount of money that would be better spent elsewhere.

May I wish you well with the campaign.

2. Adam Gladstone

Thank you for your letter dated 9th April asking for my position on ID cards.

I have always been opposed to ID cards. I opposed them when they were suggested by Michael Howard and the Tories and I oppose them now, even though sadly it is my party which is now proposing them. I oppose them because I think the whole scheme is horribly flawed and will prove disastrously expensive but, perhaps much more importantly, I oppose them because I do not believe that the state has any right to force every citizen to identify themselves.

The potential for creeping authoritarianism is clear. I have no doubt that as a white, middle-class male in my thirties, I would not be asked for my ID card very much. I suspect members of other groups in society may not have such confidence, even though they are just as law-abiding as me. As an individual I therefore have no problems at all supporting such a motion as you suggest.

However I would like to point out that were I elected on May 4th I would be part of a Labour group and would be expected to follow an agreed position within that group. I can only promise you that I would be strongly urging for my group to support such a motion. As you may know, our local MP, Neil Gerrard is a prominent Labour critic of these proposals and has voted against them.

I hope this has answered your questions. I share your view that this issue is very important and I understand why you wish to know the position of candidates before casting your vote on May 4th. Please feel free to contact me again if you want to discuss this or any other matter.

I have not yet received a reply from the 3rd Labour candidate, Khevyn Raj Limbajee.

I am quite heartened by the opposition expressed by these candidates to the ID cards legislation. However, if elected, they still might be overruled by the rest of the Labour Group. And judging by the last Council's apparently enthusiastic introduction of Blairite neoliberal policies, I wouldn't have a lot of confidence in their willingness to oppose Blair on ID cards. Labour candidates throughout the country really ought to be aware by now of how little support there is for Blair's extremist policies amongst the population at large.