The Guardian has details of the fines and the coercion which will underpin the ID card scheme, if it ever happens. Which it won't.It's a heady £5+bn mix of insanity, pettiness and incompetence, and all three can be expected to rise as this project gets closer to the point where it fails completely.
Insanity
Transgender people are offered two cards, one for each gender, if they pay twice. I'm sure there'll be a queue to get on the database twice. And won't the terrists exploit this loop-hole?
Pettiness
Fail to tell them you've moved house and pay a fine of up to £1,000. In fact, have a horrific injury and don't get a new picture taken, at your expense? £1,000 fine.
There's no coercion, they say, because you're not ever obliged to have one. Unless you want to travel somewhere outside the EU.
Incompetence
Get married and change your name? Pay up. How does that encourage 1950s values?
The fees for the card are capped. But only for a year when it's only compulsory for airline workers. Presumably there's no way they could afford to cap fees for something based on a gargantuan government IT contract. If you disagree, and think this is pettiness, please reclassify accordingly..
Hence, part of my rush to Citizenship...