Identity Cards Bill

My Lords, we must not get mixed up between the set-up costs and the running costs. The running costs are £500 million a year and the set-up costs are £5.2 billion. I believe that I am right in saying that. The LSE may have taken into account both the set-up costs and the running costs over a period of 10 or more years. That is probably the answer to the noble Lord’s question, but I am sure that the Minister will tell me if I am wrong. The noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, must welcome this amendment, as I say. But he has not been in this House wrong, and I am afraid that he has the wrong impression. He says that we do not get political in this House, but I can assure him that that is entirely erroneous. Indeed, if party politics did not come into our discussions, this would be a very dull place. So I appeal to him—I implore him—not to deny us his undoubted debating skills, which made the House of Commons a very pleasant place to be when I was sitting on the same Benches with him. Please—I was going to call him George, but I mean the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes—do not worry about having the occasional political sally. My final point is that we are told that because the Government put this proposal in the manifesto, they have a mandate. Indeed, I can hardly believe that I did, but I thought that I heard the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, say that it was a manifesto commitment, and that therefore—