NO2ID
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government's plans to introduce UK ID Cards
British national identity card
The Identity Cards Act 2006 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for National Identity Cards, a personal identification document and European Union travel document, linked to a database known as the National Identity Register .The introduction of the scheme was much...
and the associated National Identity Register, which it believes has negative implications for privacy, civil liberties and personal safety.
NO2ID is entirely independent. It does not endorse any party, nor campaign on any other topic and it works to publicise and prosecute the case against government identity management and the 'database state' among the general public, in the media, and at every level in government.
History
NO2ID arose initially from various campaigning groups to become an entity in its own right. Its initial form was to act as an umbrella group including staff and officers of LibertyLiberty (pressure group)
Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights...
, Charter 88
Charter88
Charter88 was a British pressure group that advocated constitutional and electoral reform and owes its origins to the lack of a written constitution. It began as a special edition of the New Statesman magazine in 1988 and it took its name from Charter 77 - the Czechoslovak dissident movement...
(now Unlock Democracy
Unlock Democracy
Unlock Democracy is a UK pressure group, based in Islington, in London. The organisation campaigns for a more participatory democracy in the UK, founded upon a written constitution. Unlock Democracy works to promote democratic reform across the political spectrum and is not aligned with any...
), Privacy International
Privacy International
Privacy International is a UK-based non-profit organisation formed in 1990, "as a watchdog on surveillance and privacy invasions by governments and corporations." PI has organised campaigns and initiatives in more than fifty countries and is based in London, UK.-Formation, background and...
, the Foundation for Information Policy Research
Foundation for Information Policy Research
The Foundation for Information Policy Research is a UK-based think tank that studies the interaction between information technology and government, business and civil society. It has been described by academics as "the leading think-tank on information policy issues in Britain."Established in May...
, the 1990 Trust and stand. NO2ID-branded material first appeared in 2002, published and paid for by Liberty and Charter 88.
NO2ID's support is broad based including political parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
on the political left (such as Respect
RESPECT The Unity Coalition
Respect is a socialist political party in England and Wales founded in 2004. Its name is a contrived acronym standing for Respect, Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environmentalism, Community and Trade Unionism.-Policies:...
and the Greens
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
), in the centre (such as the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
) and on the right (such as the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
and Conservative Future
Conservative Future
Conservative Future, abbreviated to CF, is the youth movement of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom for members aged up to 30 years old.Founded in 1998, Conservative Future is the largest political organisation on British campuses...
, though the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
has also pledged to scrap the ID scheme). As well as civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
groups such as Liberty, Privacy International, Action on Rights for Children
Action on Rights for Children
Action on Rights for Children is an Internet-based not-for-profit children’s rights organisation in the United Kingdom established in 2001 with a particular focus on civil rights and liberties...
, the Open Rights Group
Open Rights Group
The Open Rights Group is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues, acting as a media clearinghouse service putting journalists in touch with experts, and by fostering a community of grassroots activists...
and Genewatch UK, other organisations including trades unions (e.g. UNISON
UNISON
UNISON is the largest trade union in the United Kingdom with over 1.3 million members.The union was formed in 1993 when three public sector trade unions, the National and Local Government Officers Association , the National Union of Public Employees and the Confederation of Health Service...
, the National Union of Journalists
National Union of Journalists
The National Union of Journalists is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 38,000 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists .-Structure:...
& the University and College Union
University and College Union
The University and College Union is a British trade union formed by the merger in 2006 of the Association of University Teachers and the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education ....
) and public bodies including District, City and Borough Councils, the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, the Welsh Assembly and the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
and individuals such as Neil Tennant
Neil Tennant
Neil Francis Tennant is an English musician, singer and songwriter, who, with bandmate Chris Lowe, makes up the successful electronic dance music duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
, Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman CBE, FRSL is an English writer from Norwich. He is the best-selling author of several books, most notably his trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials, and his fictionalised biography of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ...
, and Conservative Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
have affiliated to or made public declarations of support for the NO2ID campaign.
Organisation
NO2ID is a UK-wide membership organisation, supported by subscriptions, donations and some grant funding, mainly from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd. It has established and supports national and regional groups across the UK, one of the first being NO2ID Scotland, as well as a network of action-oriented local groups staffed entirely by volunteers.NO2ID grew rapidly during the initial Parliamentary battle against the UK ID cards legislation which, after the first Bill fell having failed to be passed before the general election in May 2005, was re-introduced and passed as the Identity Cards Act 2006 in March 2006. At that point, NO2ID had around 30,000 registered supporters and a network of around 100 other supportive organisations. A partial list of those organisations declaring public support can be found on the NO2ID website.
As of December 2008, NO2ID had some 60,000 registered supporters and active groups in most major cities and many towns across the UK.
Campaign
In July 2005, NO2ID signed up over 10,000 people through PledgeBank, who pledged to refuse to accept an identity card and to contribute £10 to a fund to provide legal support for those prosecuted for resisting registration. A second identical pledge was launched to try and double the number of people publicly committed to resisting registration, but this failed to gain traction. Over two years later, in November 2007, the Pledge was called in and during the first fortnight alone over £40,000 was raised and put into a ring-fenced Legal Defence Fund.
In May 2006, NO2ID launched the "Renew for Freedom" campaign, urging passport holders to renew their passports to delay being entered on the National Identity Register. This followed a comment made by Charles Clarke
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
that "anyone who feels strongly enough about the linkage [between passports and the ID scheme] not to want to be issued with an ID card in the initial phase will be free to surrender their existing passport and apply for a new passport before the designation order takes effect". UK Passport Office statistics published the following year suggest that between 30,000 and 40,000 people renewed their passport in the first month of the campaign.
In September 2006, the NO2ID campaign started an appeal to track down the locations of the new outsourced Passport / National Identity Register
British national identity card
The Identity Cards Act 2006 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for National Identity Cards, a personal identification document and European Union travel document, linked to a database known as the National Identity Register .The introduction of the scheme was much...
"personal interview" registration centres at which the government planned to start face to face identity interviews. The project, named 'Authentication by Interview' (AbI), due to launch in October 2006, suffered a series of delays during which the campaign located 67 of the 69 interview centres - often revealing their location before Home Office ministers were able to do so in Parliamentary Answers.
In November 2007, the campaign launched the NO2ID Pledge - a new form of non-violent direct action: pre-emptive resistance. The NO2ID Pledge, supported by public figures including Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
and Shirley Williams, encourages people to resolve publicly and clearly that they will not to do those specific things that give the ID scheme its "parasitic vitality".
During the course of its campaign against the database state, NO2ID has helped establish two other independent campaigns: TheBigOptOut.org on medical confidentiality and LeaveThemKidsAlone, a parent-led campaign against the fingerprinting of children in schools and nurseries.