Identity Cards Bill

That is a very good point and I must confess that I had forgotten it. Those on the Labour Benches were my friends, colleagues and comrades until they threw me out, so I want to be as kind to them as I possibly can, but I have a duty in this House to express my opinion. My opinion is that the Bill is bad. Once again, I want to have a go at the manifesto commitment. The noble Lord, Lord Phillips, repeated what I said in an earlier debate, but there is more to it even than that. Sometimes, it is not only what is in a manifesto that counts but what is not. For example, Mr Smith told the Labour Party conference—I forget which year it was now:"““Our air is not for sale””." We all remember that. When, finally, we won the election—not we, but the Labour Party—we found that our air was for sale and was sold. Mr Blair himself—not in the manifesto but before the election—said that we had no intention of introducing university tuition fees. We have them. If you can do what is not in the manifesto, conversely, you can not do what is in the manifesto when you find that it is unacceptable and incorrect. I support the amendment. I do not know whether it will be put to the vote—probably not—but it has enabled us to have a very good debate on some of the principles not only of the Bill but of new Labour.