Most people will have heard by now of the ongoing plans for everyone to have ID cards. It’s easy to see where the idea is going, but there has been continued and very strong opposition to the plan.
And it appears that the Labour government is the only group of people that actually wants the plans to go ahead. If the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats got into power, you can be assured that the ID cards would go out with the Labour government.
So that is the background. But what, you may ask, does this have to do with Manchester Airport?
Well as the headline states, it seems that people working at the airport are going to be among the first people to get the cards. And they won’t actually get a choice about whether they have the cards or not.
According to the Home Office Minister Meg Hillier, Manchester Airport workers are very keen to be part of the scheme. But of course if you believe the opposition the opposite is true. Trade unions have apparently voiced their concerns about their members being forced to have these cards, which most people seem to be against.
But regardless of what the workers themselves think, the government is at present determined to bring these cards in as soon as possible. So what effect would this have on the airport workers themselves?
Well one point made by the Home Office Minister should be noted. She stated that workers would be able to get to work faster if they had these cards. Because the workers will be identifiable, there is much less chance of being held up by security checks and measures before they started work. Workers in the same important roles at London City Airport are also on the list to get these cards. You can read more about the process here.
The general consensus seems to be that personal liberties and civil rights are under threat by these cards. The idea is that national security will be better, but many people believe this to be reaching too far. According to reports it will be a few months yet before workers at Manchester Airport are required to have these cards. Anything could happen by then, but if the Labour government is still in power it seems difficult to imagine they would perform a U turn.
So will these cards make a difference to security at Manchester Airport? They may allow workers to progress through checks faster, but will they do much else beyond that?
Many people feel that these cards are the biggest sign yet of an ever increasing feeling of ‘Big Brother-ness’. We have no way of telling whether the workers at Manchester Airport really do want the cards or not. But it seems unlikely, given that the general feeling all over the country is somewhat negative.
It remains to be seen how enthusiastic they are to be fingerprinted and have all their details held, apparently securely, by the government.