Greenwich Labour won't talk about ID cards (Greenwich Borough Liberal Democrats)

Greenwich Borough Liberal Democrats <mail@greenwich-libdems.org.uk>

Greenwich Labour won't talk about ID cards

December 19, 2008 11:00 AM

At a recent meeting of Greenwich Council Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Brian Woodcraft proposed that the Council should not take part in any pilot scheme and should pledge that it would not require ID cards to access council services unless compelled to do so by law. Brian's argued that the disadvantages of an ID scheme would outweigh any benefits for the people of Greenwich and that the cards would do nothing to prevent terrorism, crime or fraud.

Despite clear evidence of the relevance of ID cards to Greenwich Council, Labour members would not take part in the debate. Council Leader Chris Roberts claimed that Brian's proposals were beyond the competence of the Council. The motion was therefore defeated.

Cllr Brian Woodcraft said afterwards "It is a pity that Labour members did not want to support my motion, especially as I believe that many of them are unenthusiastic about the Government's ID proposals. The weight of opposition to ID cards is growing and it is unfortunate that Greenwich Council could not present a united front against them."