more … ]]> Back in early 2004, getting infuriated at the Government’s ID cards project and because no campaign materials had then been produced by the federal party and NO2ID had yet to be formed (so they couldn’t help either), I decided to bang out a mock ID card to use for campaigning in North West Hampshire.

The ID cards project has now dragged on so long that, in total, I’ve produced versions with Charles Clarke, David Blunkett, Tony Blair and, most recently, Gordon Brown and Jacqui Smith. (I don’t know why I didn’t bother with John Reid).

For whatever reason, the party nationally decided they quite liked my card, and it still lives on, with a modified slogan, in the ID card campaign button

What people may not know, unless they’ve seen the original, is that because I was spoofing the look of an ID card, I decided to give it a watermark, as follows:

“I am a Liberal and I am against this sort of thing”
Harry Willcock, December 1950.

I can’t remember where I found the exact quote, but I was originally inspired to investigate Harry Willcock by a small panel on the wall of the National Liberal Club which is probably best quoted in full.

THE MAN VERSUS THE STATE

HARRY WILLCOCK, lifelong Liberal and a member of this Club, was, in 1951, the central figure in the historic “Identity Card” case. His refusal to produce his Identity Card to a police officer started a train of events that brought home to his fellow-citizens the curtailment their liberties. During the hearing of the case. the Lord Chief Justice and six other High Court Judges expressed strong disapproval of the continued use of Identity Cards under legislation intended only as a War-time emergency measure. Public opinion was aroused. Within a few months the Identity Card was abolished. On December 12, 1952, Harry Willcock died suddenly, while debating the case Liberalism against Socialism before the Eighty Club. The last word on his lips was “Freedom”.

As last words go, that’ll do!

Now, every time I see that campaign button, I think of the watermark, and I think of Harry Willcock.

If you would like an ID card of your own, you can download the latest version in PDF format here, sign the party’s online petition here and sign up to NO2ID here.

more … ]]> I’m very pleased to see that both our would-be leaders are signing up to refuse ID cards.

I’ve just been reminiscing with James Graham via Twitter about the fact that we both did this back in 2005 via the NO2ID pledge on PledgeBank!

And we agreed to put a tenner into a legal fighting fund as well.