Labour will not make ID cards compulsory

ID Cards will not be obligatory under a new Labour government

The Labour Party has released its election manifesto containing a number of IT-related commitments; arguably the most significant is a guarantee that its ID card scheme will not be made compulsory if it is re-elected on May 6.

This pledge goes beyond an earlier statement that said making the card mandatory would require the approval of Parliament. The guarantee is valid for at least five years — the outside limit to the term of the next Parliament.

However the manifesto was carefully worded so as not to exclude compulsion for non British passport holders.

"The new biometric ID scheme, which already covers foreign nationals, will be offered to an increasing number of British citizens, but will not be compulsory for them," said the statement.

It defended ID cards as an aid to fighting the growing threat of ID theft and fraud as well as crime, illegal immigration and terrorism and promised that within the next five years the scheme will become self-financing through charges for passports and cards and "savings from reduced fraud across public services" .

The manifesto also strongly defended the retention of DNA data by the police, subject to the exclusion of children and other minor restrictions the Home Office has reluctantly agreed.

The manifesto is also strong on the need to boost 'high technology' as a way out of recession. It promises to restore the 'telephone tax' 50p landline levy, to fund the faster roll-out of superfast broadband services, to keep R&D tax credits, launch a £4bn Finance For Growth Fund including an Innovation Investment Fund, and ringfence spending on science research.

It also promised support for creative industries, including the defence of copyright on the internet and action against "online piracy" — signaling an early bill restoring sections of the Digital Economy Bill removed or watered down by the Tories in the rush into the election.

There is also a proposal for a "Doomsday Book" database of all government databases - excluding those containing personal information - this will be made available for commercial use.