Well, the vote went pretty much as I expected. I had vaguely hoped that it would be closer, but I wasn’t disappointed at 20 Labour rebels. Unfortunately, despite lobbying, my own MP Roger Berry voted with the "ayes". In so doing he betrayed his Labour principles. He also betrayed his constituents. I will never vote for this man again – ever.
For now, there will be something of a lull while the bill proceeds to the Lords. Now is the time to educate people who until now have been largely ignorant. People who think that this is just about a piece of plastic in their pocket. People who believe that if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear. People who think that this is designed to make their lives easier – as opposed to making it simpler for government to catalogue and identify us for its own purposes.
Something that one of the posters at Samizdata points out, now is the time to explore who is really pushing for this scheme. Who really wants to control and catalogue – politicians are ephemeral. While they might enjoy the trappings of power, their time in office is brief and is subject to the whim of the ballot box. Who is the power behind government and stands to gain?
I can remember how I felt in 1997 when ‘New’ Labour got in. I can recall the jubilation as Tony Blair walked through the thronging crowds and how I believed that a difference could now be made. I rescinded my membership to ‘New’ Labour on Friday and am now left without a party and a vote. I’m Labour through and through, Labour however is no more which is a terrible shame. Blair knows his time in power is now limited and will use it to try and force as many new legislations through, leading the country into a police state. I fear by then, the rot will have set too far in to do anything about it. He talked about not having any ‘reverse gear’ and that is what is going to corrupt The Labour Party for good.