Out of curiosity does anyone know or is anyone aware of the implications of those expats who are either under PR and living permanantly in Canada or are full dual citizens with respect to having to pay for a British ID card should it come into force (as if!).

This could be between a reported £100 ($220) to £300+ ($660) or thereabouts PER HEAD.

Might seem a bit odd if you never need one. Could be compulsary though just in case you drop in from time to time to see how Mr Blair is coping without your input!!!

Blair is backtracking now, so odds are the plans will be dropped with as little fuss as he can manage.

However, if the law is passed, you'd almost certainly need a card to renew a British passport, so it would be pretty much impossible to avoid without renouncing British citizenship.

If Blair wants it. The UK gets it. Never mind if the UK needs it and how much it costs. I base my opinion on track records.

Blair is a dead duck, as politicians go: he'll be out by the next election, one way or another. Popular opposition to ID cards may well be a dagger that his comrades can use to stab him in the back and get him out sooner.

It's not impossible that he'll get his way and lumber us with the stupid things, but I think the odds are against it.

To make way for Uncle Gordon?? Gawd help us one and all!!!

I'm hoping that it'll be only for citizens resident in the UK otherwise I'll have a few words to say to Mr Blair!

100% tax anyone???? Thank god I've left.

Thank the almighty that I

Maybaes Aye, I will be leaving or

Maybaes Naw, I wont be leaving

Who the heck knows !!!!!!!

Maybaes Aye / Maybaes Naw !!!!!!!!!!

Who penned this statement, answers on a post card please.

Those from the religiously biggoted divided city of Glasgow will defo know who said it !!!!



Eddie

It is not compulsory to renew a British passport in order to stay a British citizen. There's absolutely nothing stopping you using a Canadian passport to visit the UK (provided you don't mind the queue) and also provided your plans don't go beyond the normal tourist stuff.

Jeremy

Who knows what the final plans for an ID will be! But it seems very unlikely that it will be compulsory for British citizens living abroad. Indeed it might not even be available to British citizens living abroad.

As to needing one if you 'drop in' to the UK(!), at present, the plan is that short-term non-resident visitors won't need one anyway - as far as I know, that would include short-term non-resident citizen visitors.

I suppose it might, as someone said, be necessary for people wanting to obtain a British passport - but even here there would be enormous problems. What, for example, would the authorities do about a British citizen wanting a British passport if the citizen had never lived in the UK? Many British citizens have never even set foot in the UK, let alone lived there, and it is hard to see how the UK government could sensibly be issuing ID cards to these people, at least initially. And denying them a passport would not be politically (or ethically) acceptable. (There is, of course, no requirement for a British citizen to have a British passport or to keep his or her British passport up to date.)

Check this out, it's brilliant!

http://eclectech.co.uk/clarkeidcards.php

Now that is good!

Nice one wasabi, just finish rubbish night shift and it gave me a good laugh, don't ya just love going to bed with a smile on your face!!

Given the demographics of the western world = less taxpayers, more tax takers, living longer, apart from everyone working til they're 96 yeasrs old, then tax increases of a substantial nature, longer working age AND substantial cuts in social support services are all inevitable, whether USA UK or Canada. Doesn't matter who's in power politically, it'll happen. Why did Blair grab all those illegal immigrants and asylum seekers while he could, when they could 'easily' have been prevented from entering the country......to bump up the tax revenue from 'menial' jobs, in doing so, doing a little bit to prevent the problem from popping up earlier on the radar of the mass-market mass-media reality TV-ogling TV-dinner noshing dumb and dumber 'great British public'. :scared:

Long term, it's pretty grim. blame the baby boomers or whatever. we've inherited a right 2&8. It's true what Phillip Larkin said. Eek....they spent our inheritance, on atom bombs, wars, space exploration, SUV's and fancy trinkets damn them all !!!

Rich.

In my opinion there is clearly a light on somewhere near you.

So if one has the opportunity to make the remains of your lives a little better then do it.

Until the politicians have the guts to take on the Corporate giants and begin to force an equalization of assetts back into general society the situation will only worsen.

But that would need all countries to follow the same rules. Aint going to happen is it.