ID Cards - Paul Flynn MP is a bit confused.

The libel case loser states on his weblog today that:

I have long opposed identity cards

Got that, seems clear enough so lets look at the details...

Identity Cards Bill - 20 Dec 2004 - Division No. 24
Flynn votes yes.

After the Standing Committee has read it, it reports its recommended changes back to the House and, after the Third Reading, the Bill goes to the House of Lords and then into law.

Identity Cards Bill — Second Reading - 20 Dec 2004 - Division No. 23
He voted No. Those who voted Aye failed to change the motion for debate to:

This House declines to give a Second Reading to the Identity Cards Bill because it would lead to an unreasonable intrusion into the liberties and privacy of the citizen; it would not achieve benefits proportionate to the cost, as the underlying technology is likely to prove unreliable; and the introduction of such cards is likely to lead to a requirement that they be carried at all times and such a requirement would be objectionable in principle and would lead to serious tension between the police and the citizen.

which could have blocked the Identity Cards Bill, had it been passed.

Identity Cards Bill (Programme) - 20 Dec 2004 - Division No. 25
He voted Yes. The Aye-voters set to the timetable for Standing Committee B to complete its scrutiny of the Identity Card Bill by Thursday 27th January 2005.

Once it returns to the House and its amendments have been accepted, there is a Third Reading Debate, after which the Bill is sent to the House of Lords before it becomes law.

Identity Cards Bill — New Clause 1 — National Identification Scheme - 10 Feb 2005 - Division No. 81
He voted against this.

Leap forward to 16th March 2006 and we have this. He voted with the common herd of MP's and said yes to the bill that the Lords had rejected.

Breakdown time:

MP voted with policy	5
MP voted against policy	5
MP absent	2

Now I may not be an aged politico(thankfully) but I think that someone is either for something or against something, according to this site he has been somewhat ambiguous on the issue and scored 44.3%

Hardly as he says "I have long opposed identity cards", although maybe, just maybe he is getting a tad forgetful in his dotage...

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