NO2ID

Still no "official" HTML version - so much for OPSI's promise to publish Acts "within 24 hours" of Royal Assent - it has taken almost 2 weeks to get the .pdf online !

The text still exudes an enormous power though, doesn't it?

It certainly oozes something or other.

I wonder how many of the Parliamentarians who voted it in have actually bothered to read it all ?

Perhaps the reason it took so long was that the Clerks couldn't bear to write out more than 10 words in a single sitting?

That's a good point. Maybe we should all write to our MP's (the Pros) and ask them to comment?

I think we're beyond 'comment' now.

If anything, NO2ID supporters should print out a copy of the Act, make an appointment with their pro-ID MP (e.g. at their surgery, but a public engagement might be better) and ask them face-to-face in front of as many witnesses as possible whether or not they have read every page of the Act and if they agree with every clause contained within it.

Do not engage them in argument or be distracted by anything that they say, but continue to press (Paxman-like) for an answer to your single, simple question. Listen very carefully for a yes/no answer to that question, and if they give it say, "Thank you - so you did actually/did not even [delete as approporiate] read/agree with a Bill which you voted for X times [find out how many] that will mean the compulsory fingerprinting and registration of every single one of your constituents, their children and grandchildren. NO2ID X [name of local group], your constituents and millions of voters across the land will hold you and your colleagues accountable."

And leave.

Pro-ID MPs and councillors should be put ON NOTICE. They had their chance to represent the best interests of their constituents, but they decided not to. They could have engaged in public debate but they chose not to.

You will not gain a great deal by arguing with them in public now, until such point as they are *forced* to defend their actions in front of a hostile crowd of their own constituents - i.e. quite some time away, when your group(s) have done the job of swinging local opinion massively against the ID scheme.

You can, however, embarrass and ridicule them - and this may be one way to do so.

N.B. Be aware of, and prepare for, the situation where the MP says "Yes, I read the Bill and I agree with everything in it." Politicians have, after all, been known to lie. I suggest you develop a snappy answer to do with cost if they come back like this, e.g. "So you think it makes sense to charge pensioners almost £100 to be able to collect their own pensions? To use taxpayers money to track every private financial transaction over £100? To spend billions on bureaucracy rather than on services people need? You are more deluded than I thought."

That might be useful in a public meeting, but I see little benefit in having a go at an MP in their surgery other than the chance to let off some steam. Although unlikely, even pro-ID MPs might be persuaded to oppose certain Statutory Instruments that the Home Secretary will introduce. We should not make enemies of MPs needlessly. Nor do we want them to start ignoring us when we raise other matters with them.

Which is why I mentioned witnesses, Geraint. I think most NO2ID local groups should go and introduce themselves to their MP, in any case. I certainly have. But this is most definitely NOT about going and letting off steam by yourself in an MP's surgery - that would be a complete waste of your (and their) time. This is about drawing to their attention the concerns of growing numbers of their constituents. Not just NO2ID, but individuals and other groups who will be affected by the scheme.

I did not propose 'making enemies', I proposed putting people 'on notice'.

This next phase is all about making the ID scheme a major political issue, and one of the defining manifesto promises of every party at the next General Election. Unless MPs start to see a lot of their own constituents challenging them on this, they will continue to believe what they are fed from central office. A trickle of people at their surgeries in 2005/6 becoming a flood by 2008/9 will focus their minds. This is one area in which a dedicated bunch of people, reaching out to other civil society and community groups and individuals and bringing their concerns to the MP could have a massive cumulative effect.

If you tell someone that they are going to be held accountable, and then keep telling/showing them how, example by example (pensioners, unions, womens' groups, etc, etc.), you will not be making an enemy - you will be educating someone who, in the end, should thank you. In the first stages, they'll be uncomfortable - no-one likes to be told they are wrong - but when/if the light goes on, you can bet that they'll be on your side. Because they'll have been deceived by their own side and left to deal with the public fallout.

[N.B. The SIs will get through in whatever form the government want - do not for a minute imagine there will be a 'rebellion' on those.]

I know that up in Scotland, the Citizens Account stuff is kicking off - but unless these people realise that what they voted for has been and will continue to be noticed, how do you expect to keep the pressure up on our issue, and things closely related to it?

Don't be unecessarily rude, but don't back down either.

There is a link/common ground between the NIR & CAs, and any MP or MSP that voted for both/either has a case to answer. Far more powerful to tackle them both together than to allow him/her the opportunity to answer/argue each on its 'individual merits'.

The simple fact is that an MP can (and some will) ignore you unless you make yourself impossible to ignore. So long as what you do is legal, based in the facts and involves increasing numbers of their constituents you will (continue to) be noticed. But if you don't get in their faces, they won't pay any attention at all.

i saw on another forum, a person who had gone through some of the major pieces of legislation in the US, with a highlighter, putting in bold the really important phrases.

it was a really good idea, and was an accesible way to start understanding the documents.

i think it is more important to get our fellow citizens to read the legislation than it is the MP's etc i mean, they know what they're doing, trust me, they know what they are voting for.

so, i was thinking, we should get all the major pieces of legislation that have been signed recently, like the ID Act 2006, Terrorism Act 2000, Human Rights Act 1998 and many more, and highlight the important bits, maybe even with notes attached at the end as well.

i mean, if we could get people to read these, and understand them, well, i think that would be the battle half won.

what do you think?

im willing to do this. in fact i will get started right now. im going to start with the Terrorism Act, if a bunch of us peer reviewed each others we could get something together so we could just print them out and hand out to people!

Interesting idea, Frank. This is the kind of participatory politics that MySociety are very good at. Perhaps you should contact them: http://www.mysociety.org

Oddly enough .....

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