No to ID cards and the database state

The national campaign against ID cards: www.no2id.net

Stephen Robinson and Chelmsford Lib Dems are running an ongoing campaign against Labour's massive invasion of your privacy. The database of all your personal details is also a massive security risk, as shown by the all-too-frequent losses of personal details.

More about Government plans to collect all YOUR emails and texts

Liberal Democrats are also campaigning against the child database ContactPoint

Would you be happy if the supermarket collected all your personal details onto the national database?

Stephen Robinson's ongoing campaign

• Mar 31, 2009:
  • Chelmsford Lib Dem launches "It's MY data"
    Chelmsford Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson, has launched his "It's MY data - not the government's" campaign. [See www.ourcampaign.org.uk/itsMYdata ] The Lib Dems are opposing plans for the government to collect all our text messages, emails, Facebook and My Space messages. Said Stephen Robinson, "The Labour Government has gone completely power mad. They already want a massive database of all your personal details and to collect up your DNA. Now they want all your emails, texts and voicemail messages. "All this will do is put OUR money into the hands of computer companies. It will not make us any safer. In fact, their past track record shows that they cannot be trusted with our personal data and will quite possibly lose the information. This campaign follows hot on the heels of the national Liberal Democrats new Freedom Bill. This details how the party plans to roll back the authoritarian laws passed by both Labour and Conservative governments which have undermined civil liberties. Said Mr Robinson, "I am pleased that my Lib Dem colleagues in Parliament are proposing this freedom bill which will go a long way to restoring our rightful freedoms." The 20 measures contained in the draft legislation will: · Cut the maximum pre-charge detention period from 28 to 14 days · Abolish the veto in the Freedom of Information Act that allows ministers to keep information secret · Scrap the ID card scheme · Remove all innocent people from the DNA database, except for those tried for a violent or sexual offence · Stop councils and others snooping by restricting the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to serious and terrorist offences. · Regulate CCTV to protect privacy following a Royal Commission on the use of cameras Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said: "With one small change after another over the last 20 years, the cumulative loss of civil liberties is huge." A website is being launched alongside the draft Bill to encourage consultation and allow members of the public to suggest measures that should be included in it. See www.freedom.libdems.org.uk A note explaining which measures the Bill will repeal is at http://freedom.libdems.org.uk/the-freedom-bill/ A copy of the Freedom Bill is at http://is.gd/lFTz Published & promoted by Ian Gale on behalf of Chelmsford Liberal Democrats, all at 20 Dane Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2SS...... 01245 358903 Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
• Nov 28, 2008:
  • Lib Dems stand up against Labour's police state
    Opposition MPs locked up; massive database of all your personal details; ContactPoint - a database of all children in the UK; more CCTV cameras than any other country in the western world; and the DNA from millions of innocent adults and children stored on computer. "This is Labour's police state in Britain today," said Chelmsford Liberal Democrat Stephen Robinson, following the arrest of Damian Green MP "and only the Liberal Democrats can be relied upon to stand up for the British people's hard-won freedoms." Mr Robinson reminded people that the Conservatives had given in on the final hurdle for the identity cards and database (see story 10/04/2006: http://is.gd/9qOu) and, in Government, the Conservatives removed the public interest defence when information is leaked. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg told the BBC that he was "really shocked" by the arrest of Damian Green. He said the arrest was a "mayday warning" for democracy in Britain: "This is something you might expect from a tin-pot dictatorship, not in a modern democracy." Given the culture of "extraordinary secrecy" in Whitehall, it was getting harder to hold the government to account and opposition MPs had a constitutional duty to keep "ministers on their toes", he added. BBC report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7753763.stm Related Links Nick Clegg's article in Daily Telegraph Stephen Robinson's ongoing campaign against the database state Published & promoted by Ian Gale on behalf of Chelmsford Liberal Democrats, all at 20 Dane Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2SS...... 01245 358903 Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
• Oct 13, 2008:
  • Liberal Democrats slam "grotesque" invasion of privacy
    Stephen Robinson slams Labour's decision on ID database - better to spend money on more police Chelmsford Liberal Democrats have slammed Labour's decision to go ahead with ID Cards. Parliamentary candidate Stephen Robinson said that the money could be much better spent on putting more police directly onto our streets. Said Stephen Robinson, "Essex police authority could afford hundreds more police officers if the ID database and cards were scrapped. This would enable the police to fight knife crime more effectively, deal with anti-social behaviour, and put more police directly on our streets. "Instead, our officers do fantastic work under pressure from a government which doesn't even respect them enough to give them a with-inflation pay rise. "Let's not forget that the people of this area will also have to pay just to get an ID Card, and during the recession, we do not want to have to pay out more in a poll-tax from Labour." Related Links May 2007: Robinson helps launch 'No 2 ID - Chelmsford' Sept. 2006: Renew passport now to avoid Government database April 2006: Lib Dems oppose ID cards as Simon Burns and Tories back down October 2005: Lib Dems get local support for ID Card Opposition More on the Liberal Democrat case against ID cards and sign our petition The national No2ID campaign Published & promoted by Ian Gale on behalf of Chelmsford Liberal Democrats, all at 20 Dane Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2SS...... 01245 358903 Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
• May 13, 2007:
  • Robinson helps launch 'No 2 ID - Chelmsford'
    "Chelmsford No 2 ID" group launched at site of new interrogation centre, as Government announces another massive jump in database scheme costs. Chelmsford Liberal Democrat Stephen Robinson joined campaigners from other parties and none to launch the Chelmsford branch of the national campaign group on Wednesday 9 May. The first step in creating a massive national database of all your personal details is compulsory interviews for new passports, followed by all those renewing their passport. This development follows hot on the heels of a massive price hike in passport costs, to help pay for this database. People from across Essex will have to come to Chelmsford for their interview, at a new interrogation centre in Rosebery House, 41 Springfield Road. So campaigners chose that as the location for their campaign launch. Stephen and the other campaigners wore "No 2 ID" masks - "I am a name, not a number" they said. Also this week, the Government slipped out an announcement that the official costs of the ID database have risen by £400 million in the last six months, taking the official cost of the scheme to £5.31 billion. The report was released a whole month after the legally-required deadline - on the day that Tony Blair announced his resignation, so that people would not notice. The Liberal Democrats have accused the government of breaking the law over its decision to postpone the release of the report. "This shows the depths of cynicism and media manipulation to which ministers are now resorting to ram through this increasingly unpopular scheme" - Nick Clegg MP, Shadow Home Secretary. The campaign launch followed a successful meeting on 29th March with the General Secretary of the No2ID campaign. See link below. By not voting NO on all occasions, the Conservatives allowed the Labour party to effectively make ID cards compulsory if you want to travel abroad. See link below. For more about the Lib Dem campaign against ID Cards and to sign the petition, see link below. Related Links Report from the 29 March meeting See the report of the launch in Essex Chronicle The Lib Dem campaign and petition against ID cards The national No 2 ID campaign How the Conservatives let ID cards become compulsory Email the Chelmsford No 2 ID organiser Felicity Mawson Read Felicity Mawson's letter to the Chronicle from 22 March 2007 Published & promoted by Ian Gale on behalf of Chelmsford Liberal Democrats, all at 20 Dane Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2SS...... 01245 358903 Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
• Mar 30, 2007:
  • "Big Database" State off to a faltering start (thankfully)
    This is the week when the government was due to start collecting the personal biometric data that will form part of the national identity database. The data will be collected at one of 69 interrogation centres around the country, including one in Chelmsford. Local Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Stephen Robinson objected to the planning application for the centre, and attended a meeting last night, addressed by the General Secretary of the No2ID campaign. The audience heard about the latest developments in the campaign against the database state. First of all they heard that the start date for data collection had been postponed yet again with no reason given. Mr Robinson commented, "It is a bad start to what the Government alleges will be a flagship IT project. They say this system can be trusted to hold vast amounts of our personal data, including tax records, national insurance contributions, medical treatment records and the like, but they can't even get it started on time. "This ridiculously expensive scheme will NOT help the so-called war on terror, it will not combat benefit fraud, nor will it do anything to assist an over burdened immigration service. Lib Dems will scrap the scheme and use the money to put 10,000 more police on the streets, and improve cross-border co-operation to prevent international crime." More about the No 2 ID campaign: www.no2id.net ** No2ID Update from Nick Clegg MP ** The Government is planning to sell access to our personal data once the unpopular ID cards scheme has been introduced. The news confirms what our research here in Parliament has indicated - that, if ID cards are introduced, we will be expected to produce them in banks, shops, libraries, post offices and more. The Government will then charge those organisations to check we are who we say we are. You can read the story in the Daily Mail of 12 March (link below). It is bad enough that Labour insists on gathering vast amounts of information from the British people, and charging us for the privilege. The fact that they will be making vast sums of money out of charging people and businesses to check that data merely adds insult to injury. I'm confident that public resistance to the imposition of this utterly unnecessary ID cards scheme will continue to increase as the costs to each and every one of us become clearer. It's up to us all to keep campaigning so we can get this project scrapped. Please sign our Scrap ID Cards petition (link below). I'll be tracking the ongoing chaos of the ID cards proposals, as well as all the other problems at the Home Office, at my new website: www.homeofficewatch.com. Thanks for reading, Nick Clegg MP Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary Related Links Sign our No 2 ID petition Read about Government plans to sell our data Young Robinson gets passport now to avoid Government database Lib Dems oppose ID cards as as our Tory MP backs down Published & promoted by Ian Gale on behalf of Chelmsford Liberal Democrats, all at 20 Dane Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2SS...... 01245 358903 Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
• Sep 26, 2006:
  • Renew passport now to avoid Government database
    Chelmsford Lib Dem Stephen Robinson and his son post off passport application to beat the 5 October changes A warning has been issued that anyone renewing their passport after 5 October will pay a much higher fee and have new, personal details stored on a massive database. So anyone wanting to avoid this is advised to renew now even if their passport has a few years to run, or apply for their first if they don't have one. A Chelmsford campaigner has done just that. The Government is creating an identity database on every single UK citizen - children included. After 5 October, anyone applying for a passport for the first time will have to attend an interview. Later in the year, both new and renewing people will be interviewed and have their fingerprints taken and their eye scanned, and it will cost more. Last December the cost of a passport went from £42 to £51; on 5 October it will go up to £66 - all to help pay for the identity database. That is a 57% rise in under a year. To avoid all of this, local Liberal Democrat campaigner Stephen Robinson has ensured his passport is up to date and applied for one for his son. Said Mr Robinson, "The planned NHS database (which is nothing like as a large as the identity database) is already proving a nightmare of problems and cost overrun; the identity database has much greater scope for going wrong. "Liberal Democrats oppose the database because of the huge cost (the money would be better spent on more police officers), the potential for errors and unreliability, and that it will not achieve any of the things its proposers claim. "The Lib Dems back the campaign for early passport renewal - www.renewforfreedom.org - and the campaign against the ID database - www.no2id.net" Published & promoted by Ian Gale on behalf of Chelmsford Liberal Democrats, all at 20 Dane Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2SS...... 01245 358903 Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
• Apr 10, 2006:
  • Lib Dems oppose ID cards as Simon Burns and Tories back down
    Lib Dems continue campaign against expensive and pointless ID cards, and massive database West Chelmsford MP Simon Burns has been accused by Lib Dem Stephen Robinson of caving in to the Government over the introduction of identity cards. The Identity Cards Bill passed into law with most Conservatives abstaining on the final vote and only the Liberal Democrats solidly against. Stephen Robinson, Mr Burns' Liberal Democrat opponent last year, said: "I am deeply disappointed that Simon Burns did not join the Liberal Democrats in the vote to prevent the Government introducing compulsory ID cards before the next general election. Mr Burns and his Conservative colleagues have let the Government off the hook over ID cards. "At the general election Labour made a manifesto pledge to introduce voluntary identity cards. But the Bill the Conservatives allowed through last week introduces compulsory ID cards by the back door by forcing anyone getting a new passport to have an ID card too. So the only way in which people will be able to opt out of having an ID card is by giving up their right to travel abroad, which is an outrageous thing to demand. "Until last week the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were working together to ensure that no-one would be forced to have an ID card until after the last possible date for the next general election - so any party wanting to make ID cards compulsory would need a general election mandate to do so. "We had a real opportunity to guarantee a real debate, and a general election, before anyone was forced to have an ID card. That is why I am so disappointed that Simon Burns and most of his Conservative colleagues backed down and caved in to the Government over this when it came to the crunch." "So much for the Conservative Party's new found liberalism." NB 1) Labour's 2005 general election manifesto said: "We will introduce ID cards, including biometric data like fingerprints, backed up by a national register and rolling out initially on a voluntary basis as people renew their passports." 2) The March 29th vote means that (a) Identity cards will be compulsory for anyone getting a new or renewed passport on or after January 1st 2010 - which means that we could well have compulsory (in effect) ID cards ahead of the next general election, which need not happen until May 2010; and (b) People who apply for new or renewed passports before January 1st 2010 will have their names and details put on the new national identity register (although they will not be forced to have an ID card). It is not certain yet when this will apply from as the Government have not said when the national identity register will be in place. 3) The Liberal Democrats' oppose the creation of a national identity database and the ID cards that go with it. It won't work; it will not achieve the alleged benefits and the cost of the cards and the database will be anything between £10 and £20 billion. Related Links More on the Liberal Democrat case against ID cards and sign our petition Published & promoted by Ian Gale on behalf of Chelmsford Liberal Democrats, all at 20 Dane Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2SS...... 01245 358903 Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
• Oct 18, 2005:
  • NO 2 ID CARDS... Lib Dems get local support for ID Card Opposition
    Team with tragedy masks with bar-code gagging. Local Liberal Democrats met widespread support for their opposition to ID cards and the national identity database, in a town centre petition harvesting campaign. Many signed petitions against an extravagant scheme which, according to Parliamentary Spokesman Stephen Robinson, "will cost citizens £100s and do nothing to cut crime, terrorism or illegal immigration." He said, "As well as the charge to all of us, the system will cost AT LEAST £6 billion.This amounts to an extra 2p on the basic rate of income tax, which should be invested in the police, and has all the hallmarks of another expensive Government computer fiasco." Local councillor Andrew Sosin said, "It would be much better to spend the money on more police officers. That would do very much more to cut crime across the board. It only needs a few more MPs to change their mind to stop this monumental waste of money and bureaucratic nightmare. Liberal Democrats oppose ID cards because... · the soaring cost - the £6 billion would be better spent on tackling crime directly; · the charge to citizens could be as high as £300; Stephen Robinson & Andrew Sosin collected signatures on the No to ID petition · the intrusion into the private lives of citizens by the government, including the compulsory fingerprinting of every adult and the creation of a single database containing the movements, details and activities of every individual; · the considerable problems that would be caused to individuals and to the country generally if the technology fails." Related Links Outraged at ID Waste? See more here Published & promoted by Ian Gale on behalf of Chelmsford Liberal Democrats, all at 20 Dane Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2SS...... 01245 358903 Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY