"Identity crisis", Paul Robinson no The Spectator

"For decades Britons have defined themselves precisely as the sort of people who do not have to carry ID cards. We are a free people. The dictatorial regimes of the Continent can do that sort of thing, but we do not. Forcing us to prove our identity alters the relationship between state and citizen. It proves that the state does not trust us to be who we say we are. In a democracy, the state which we elect should assume that we are honest, not that we are dishonest. In doing the latter, it insults our sense of personal dignity. This may be an irrational response. There may be no good reason for us to feel that way. But we do, and the state should respect it. It is who we are. Blair and Blunkett seem to want to turn us all into Belgians. Much though I like my new neighbours, that is not something I wish to be. "