Name, rank and serial number

Well it's going to be a busy week for those interested in identity cards. The bill goes up for a second reading tomorrow and it looks likely that parliamentary rebels won't be able to derail it, although the Lords may.

I've lost count of the number of reasons why this scheme is a rotten idea. While the IT companies which support New Labour so generously may love the idea of a huge integration deal like this, it makes little sense for the rest of us. The technology's unproven, the task of integration will be unprecedented and the security benefits are minimal.

But what really grates, as an Englishman true and true, is the thought that some petty official can demand that I prove who I am a the drop of a hat and then read through my most private data. I've been stopped by police in the US once and the first question that was barked out was "ID" and heaven help me if I didn't have it.

If the ID card goes through it won't be the next Poll Tax. Unless the British people have become a lot more active over the past few years they'll learn to live with this.

No, if we're doing comparisons the ID card legislation is this government's electronic foot and mouth epidemic: massively expensive, hugely dispiriting and leaving everyone with a nasty taste in the mouth.