I suspect many readers will have noticed the furore about this scheme, publicised by the Home Office after Christmas on Twitter:
The actual scheme details are here.
I discussed this scheme with someone of my acquaintance yesterday, who is as appalled by it, as I am. "Why," she asked, "is it necessary?"
My explanation was straightforward. It is necessary as the precursor for discrimination. Unless 'otherness's is created how can anyone be sure who the 'other' they are meant to despise is?
And you can be sure that this scheme will in not too long a due course lead to the need for identity cards. That will be for everyone, of course. After all, how can papers be requested from those who are 'other' if papers are not required from those who are 'us' who might otherwise, all too easily, and quite understandably, be confused with those who are 'not us'.
I despise this scheme. The suggestion that the last time registration of this sort was required was by fascist states seems all too obvious, and glaringly true, an observation. And too worrying a precedent to be ignored.
But I do not need to make that comparison to loathe all that this registration means. It requires that my friends, colleagues, neighbours and so many others I acquaint with must now register and pay a fee that some cannot afford - even for their children - to do something that has been theirs as of right - which is simply to live and work in this country, to which they have added enormously, not least as far as I am concerned by being my friends, colleagues, neighbours and acquaintances.
I hate to be divided from all these people.
Which is why I will be applying to be registered.
First, if enough of us do this the system will be messed up.
Second, we show our solidarity by doing so.
Third, it costs nothing to do.
But it is a form of protest. And it is one I intend to pursue. If I can only side with the 'other' by registering with them then that is what I will do.
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I entirely agree with your sentiments.
This has the stench of Theresa’s May corpse all over it from her days in the Homes Office.
She’s by no means a spent force yet. God-damn her.
I remember the Workers Registration scheme that ran in the UK from 2004-2011. It was indeed despicable, fascistic and even endorsed by the EU of which we were a member at that time of course.
Richard,
I applaud the sentiments but please read Prof Tanja Bueltmann on why she thinks this is not the right approach. Thanks
https://twitter.com/cliodiaspora/status/1078765716491390977
A couple of points occur to me.
1. This registration scheme is in response to those who voted to leave in order to ‘get rid’ of incomers. The right wing thugs who beat up or verbally abuse anyone speaking a foreign language (and apparently this include Welsh even when spoken in Wales!) have had their wishes provided.
2. As for registering as a UK citizen I’m pretty sure the system will reject those (computer says no!) who try that option. There has been some discussion on Twitter suggesting that trying to overwhelm it by flooding it with applicants is counter-productive and will harm those we wish to help and protect. Knowing how these things are done from the inside, I am sure it will be a mess of the usual magnitude even if people use it as expected and planned for.
How we have got to this point and what we can do about it fills me with despair.
The scheme is not open yet – I tried to use it
ID cards a Guttenberg concern.
The government already has the right to read you communications, analyse your internet history, purchase history and credit history and track your movements. They can use your phone, laptop, tablet or TV as a listening device.
Worrying about ID cards when we all carry a device carries out constant surveillance on ourselves. ID cards can’t be a privacy issue when privacy no longer exists.
Stu,
You’ve missed the point about having ID cards. They are not meant for data and surveillance they are meant to exclude that anyone doesn’t have or can’t get one.
I agree
They exist to ensure there is discrimination
Passports have become ID cards by stealth. Employers are demanding to see them even for warehouse jobs and the like.
Not Just employers, estate agents, bank managers, etc… Basically, you need to prove you are registered somewhere in order to ‘function’ , and not just here, it’s all over Europe, elsewhere too. So passports have been required everywhere, for everyone, not just ‘others’.
ID cards were introduced by the Vichy government in France, so the connotations are clear. It’s all about connotations. Of course our internet moves are available 27/7 to whoever wants to monitor us. But this ID thing, this registration thing, that’s made me jump out of my skin.
I know I’ve had dual citizenship for 35 years now, but I still felt that slap in the face, that ‘otherness’…I still remember the panick I felt at 3am on 24/6/16 till I remembered I had that piece of paper somewhere in a box.
As for mass registering in solidarity with ‘others’, I worry about what could happen if ‘they’ don’t manage to comply because of clogging the system.
I really, really do not trust the HO not to send those deportation letters. Really not.
May is a true xenophobe, if she has one belief, it’s that ‘foreigners’ have no right to be on her soil, and that if they want to stay, they’ll have to crawl for it. So do consider what Tanya says as was mentioned in an earlier post. I know a lot of EU citizens in my town and I follow many on Twitter, they all seem terrified a letter will be in the post if they can’t register in time. And they all feel like shit.
Those who can are already leaving
I am seeing it
And why not?
27/7, Marie! Will the days be longer after BREXIT too. Bastards!
The scheme will require an awesome IT system.
Under Labour we had very expensive problems with computer systems at DVLA, the Dept of Agriculture, the Justice Dept, MoD and of course the NHS IT system. Under the tories the Windrush situation was made worse because reliable data was not available (lost or not recorded). Would anyone seriously claim the Universal Credit rollout problems are just a glitch. The track record of Government and IT is a catalogue of miserable failures. But consider this extract from advice from the CPS:
“Computer evidence must now follow the Common Law rule, that a presumption will exist that the computer producing the evidential record was working properly at the material time and that the record is therefore admissible as real evidence.”
How will anyone who knows their data has been wrongly recorded be able to challenge a system they have not seen, have no access to and lack the necessary skills to interrogate. All without access to legal aid. This looks to me to be a means to give ‘computer says no’ attitudes judicial force to rule out any challenge that has already been anticipated.
This is all before any consideration is given to the nature of the presumptions made around which any system will be designed. Then, on top of this, the perennial problems of political interference after the design parameters have been set.
I am waiting for the Government to announce a new ministerial position, Witchfinder General, with of course several million pounds to develop a network of ducking stools.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/18/nhs-records-system-10bn
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labours-computer-blunders-cost-16326bn-1871967.html
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/computer-records-evidence
@Bill, interesting link there about the CPS. Having worked on these systems I am aware of the current trend of government departments to have the utmost belief in privately sourced expertise, not in their own permanent staff. This is not just limited to calling in the usual big IT folk but right down to hiring thousands of independent contractors who define and action the technical decisions. The effect of this, in my experience, for example one section with dozens of contractors all doing their own thing, is what contributes to the mess we see in major (and minor) government IT. These people can come and go at will, and are not under any ‘direction and control’ due to contract wording under IR35 rules.
I have been on both sides of the fence so I can see how this works but the real problem is with government adoption of trendy methodologies like ‘agile’ that are unsuited to these projects. I could go on and I will spare you the boring details.
Yup, the track record makes it very clear that voting won’t get us any kind of effective government.
So now what?
Bill,
Do you know whether the CPS’ chilling advice applies to England & Wales only or also in Scotland and NI, which have different legal systems?
I think it is the same everywhere
This is obscene….!
The solution is for all Brits to be invited/encouraged to obtain an ID card, preferably at no cost. They are commonplace in Europe. I’m a British immigrant living in Spain. Within 90 days of arrival I had to register as a resident or face being required to leave, so I obtained such a card, with an NIE number. All Spanish citizens also carry an ID card from age 16. It’s norma
l and nothing to do with state control. This is what many in Britain do not appreciate about ‘free movement’, FoM is not a blank cheque and as an immigrant you do have to demonstrate having the means to support yourself. It’s not an EU ruling either, yet whilst the UK does not require this Leavers tend to complain about being ‘flooded with EU immigrants’. Yes, that will be the ones that bring a net benefit to the UK economy.
It’s not fascistic or ‘Big Brother’ to require that citizens and extranjeros have ID cards of some sort. Such cards do not mean that immigrants will be asked to wear yellow stars or different clothing. Mine in Spain cost me €10. Cheaper than the UK system for immigrants living in the UK. And saves a lot of hassle if stopped for traffic offences.
Chris
You really do, very badly, miss the point
Very badly indeed
That makes you part of the problem
Richard
Richard, I enjoy reading your blog usually but it seems to me that it’s you that has missed the point! This scheme demands higher fees than some european ones but the scheme was agreed with the EU in November. Check out the Free Movement site for legal explanation.
“EU citizens and their family members who, by 31 December 2020, have been continuously resident in the UK for five years will be eligible for ‘settled status’ enabling them to stay indefinitely.
“EU citizens and their family members who arrive by 31 December 2020, but will not yet have been continuously resident here for five years, will be eligible for ‘pre-settled status’, enabling them to stay until they have reached the five-year threshold. They can then also apply for settled status. [This is the same as the ‘temporary residence’ identification currently required by EU countries, within 90 days of arrival]
“EU citizens and their family members with settled status or pre-settled status will have the same access as they currently do to healthcare, pensions and other benefits in the UK.
“Close family members (a spouse, civil partner, durable partner, dependent child or grandchild, and dependent parent or grandparent) living overseas will still be able to join an EU citizen resident here after the end of the implementation period, where the relationship existed on 31 December 2020 and continues to exist when the person wishes to come to the UK. Future children are also protected.
“Others who currently have rights under EU law will be protected too, including those with ‘retained rights of residence’.
As the Free Movement site points out: “A vital feature of this agreement for the 3.5 million or so EU citizens living in Britain is that they are not protected by it unless they make an application to the Home Office, under what the department has branded the EU Settlement Scheme.” In Spain, UK citizens living and/or working there have to apply for residency within 90 days of arrival. But once temporary residency is obtained it becomes permanent after 5 years continuous residence – without a fresh application having to be made. So – Spain’s approach is similar to the UK ‘pre-settled’ status under this scheme.
Are you really that naive Chris?
Really?
Not all those affected have left. In fact many I know have not because they are still like rabbits in the headlights, not knowing which way to jump.
I include both my daughters in law in this. I know it’s about more than them – in fact it’s about 3.8 million EU citizens living here.
I also know that if both my sons do what they say they will, all my family will soon be living in the EU, but not me as I have far too many health problems to fit in any insurance scheme, and at nearly 70 I can’t be bothered to find out.
Both my daughters in law work in the education system, and have done for over 20 years, as does one of my sons.
I don’t fancy the UK’s chances to survive If everyone in a similar situation said to hell with the UK.