Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Physician heal thyself
The Liberal Democrats have, rightly, been strong opponents of the government's plan to introduce ID cards. However, it appears that no-one has informed the party's own conference staff.
The booking forms for passes for the party conference have been redesigned to be more invasive, to a degree that would make Charles Clarke proud.
I have just downloaded from the party's website the registration form for an exhibitor's pass, in preparation for September's conference in Blackpool. It is reasonable to request contact details and to ask whether you've been to conference before. However:
- Why does the party need to know my passport number, apparently regardless of whether I am British?
- Why does the party need to know my driving licence number?
- Why does the party need to know the registration number and model of my car "regardless of whether you will be driving to the conference or not"?
- Why does the party ask for the registration number and model of one's hire car, when a hirer could not possibly know such information two months before the conference (the deadline for returning the form being 26th July)?
What next? Will the party's Cowley Street HQ be demanding iris scans?
The person responsible for designing these forms is either an authoritarian or an idiot. Whether the explanation is hypocrisy or merely irony, the party ought to be ashamed.
# posted by Simon Titley @ 1:58 am 
