Bring on ID cards - it's how to crackdown on illegal immigration, says Stephen Pound

This image of Teutonic arrogance has poisoned the debate around identification cards in the same way as which the proposal to abolish British summer time in favour of no seasonal time changes was fatally torpedoed by labelling the proposal “Berlin time”.

Despite the lazy and simplistic association of ID cards with the jackboot there can surely be no one in the land who does not feel that there is a vital and increasingly urgent need to address one of the fundamental problems that we as a nation face and which is a major contributory factor in creating the magnetic pull that attracts so many people – legally and illegally – to our shores. At present we have only the vaguest idea as to how many people are actually in the United Kingdom.

As we are only one of three European countries – the others being the Republic of Ireland and Denmark – which do not have ID cards it is an easy sell for the vile people traffickers to promise, with more than a little justification, that once you have set foot in this green and pleasant land you will be free to work in whatever field you choose with only the very slightest risk of being discovered to be working illegally.

After a few years – guess what?

Undocumented labour comes with no need to pay tax so money can be saved to either refresh the homeland or to set up home here in the UK and be all but guaranteed that when the sclerotic Home Office finally gets round to assessing your status you can prove that you have established a right to family life and have put down enough in the way of roots to make the immigration tribunal judge go all misty eyed and immediately stamp “approved” on the asylum application.

With ID cards we would no longer need to rely on the transparent honesty of the car wash kings who currently are politely asked to enquire of their squeegee wielding staff as to whether they have the right to work but instead in the same way as - admittedly very rarely - immigration officers can raid a factory where it is suspected that illegal immigrants are being employed.

ID cards should be made available to every single person with the legal right to residence in the UK.

Asylum seekers should be properly assessed at the point of entry, fingerprinted, and issued with an ID card that clearly defines their status as “under review” and with no recourse to public funds.

This was passed into law in 2008 following lobbying by some real robust Home Secretaries such as John Reid, Jack Straw, and David Blunkett.

Before the scheme could be fully rolled out the 2010 election saw the arrival of Nick (now Sir Nick) Clegg and David (now Lord David) Cameron.

These unapologetically damp liberal politicians immediately binned the ID Card legislation.

Immigration numbers which had been steadily falling almost immediately increased to the present level which would be utterly unimaginable back then.
There are issues around the material contained in cards and GB News‘ Beverley Turner had quite rightly warned about state encroachment into personal data.

We’ve seen enough evidence of Russian and Chinese cyber hacking to know not to trust them. However, we need to show ID nowadays to vote and to perform so many other basic functions. Its not good enough to say that you can use a passport or a driving licence – many good honest citizens possess neither.

A secure ID card showing a photograph and some basic information as found on donor cards as well as, perhaps, blood group and details of severe allergies, could go a long way towards weeding out those with no right to be here, being a useful individual benefit and – finally – letting us know just how many people there are in the UK.

Bring on the UK citizens membership card – the time is right and the need is great!