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Identity Cards Bill

When the Conservatives cry ““Freedom!””, it usually means one of two things: either the French are about to invade us, or the Conservatives cannot rely on their arguments, which are usually quite weak on such issues. Having listened to the hon. and learned Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier), I believe that today is a case of the latter. He and the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Clegg) have made a great deal of what was said in the Labour party manifesto. I do not intend to go too far down that road, but it seems that the Lords’ justification for continuing to delay this process is that the manifesto in some way contradicts the Bill. The hon. and learned Member for Harborough quoted the words that he thinks are ambiguous, and the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam accused us, in relying on those words, of indulging in semantics. The quotation that the hon. and learned Member for Harborough gave—it was an accurate one—is that the scheme will be introduced"““on a voluntary basis as people renew their passports.””"