(Voter ID - Google search)
I have no driving license as I failed my driving test twice, ..and it'll be a long time before I attempt that again. (I don't think I'm quite cut out for driving. Little real interest in cars plus a nervous disposition isn't a great combination.) I don't have a passport as my beliefs about climate change mean I've completely boycotted all flying. Just kidding. It's because I have an incredibly dull life and no money to spice it up.
So unless I get a passport sorted out sometime before the next general election (probably a decent stretch of time to be fair with this parliament) then I may have a problem casting my vote. Which will not be good.
Now people often bend their beliefs to suit their own personal circumstances, and it's tempting to do that. However, I won't be doing that, and I'm sticking with my support for this. Voting is incredibly important and it's perfectly reasonable to ask for some kind of ID. This means I'll probably bite the bullet and fork out for a passport at some point in the not too distant future.
Work and whinge..
It does give me a little opportunity to have a bit of a whinge though. The ID issue is one that's been a bit of a bugbear of mine for a while. Not just in regards voting.
For example, when getting a job. Having the correct ID can be a huge hurdle for people when they're trying to get into work. I think the government should be making it much easier for people to get ID. It's so necessary for so many things. We waste so much money on all manner of silly schemes trying to help people into work. Massive waste (maybe one for another post). Yet something as simple as not having ID can block someone from finding employment. Why not have some kind of scheme helping people to do this?
It's similar with references in regards work. It's easy if you're successful and in work, but if you're unsuccessful getting people to vouch for your existence can be surprisingly difficult.
Of course, it's similar when applying for a passport. When I eventually get round to doing that I'll need to find someone who can "confirm my identity", and of course this has to be someone from a "recognised profession". Sadly with my limited social circle of mainly working class people I don't know too many barristers, civil servants or police officers. Hopefully, I'll be able to find someone fitting the description somewhere on the peripheries of my social group, but it could be a problem for me.
On top of this you're essentially asking a favour of someone too. Getting them to take time out of their busy day to send an email or do something like that on your behalf. "Have you signed my passport photo yet??", "Sorry to go on, but could you send that email for me please?" You feel a bit rude. Especially if it's someone you're not close to or only know vaguely ..and annoyingly close friends and family members are strictly off limits when it comes to getting references.
It's even worse with references for jobs. It's not so bad if you apply for a job once in a blue moon, but if you're unemployed and applying for jobs every week then you feel like you're taking a huge liberty with people by giving their name, address and phone number to an endless string of people and companies. Finding people willing to put up with that is obviously quite hard. Again, looking at ways to help people with things like this would be a huge and very practical way of helping people into work.
Saying "I have no references" obviously doesn't look great, and sometimes online applications require references simply for you to complete the form.
I remember a long time ago being unemployed and applying for a job at what was then the Royal Mail. I needed a "professional" to sign a photo for me to prove my identity, and was struggling to find someone fitting that description. I went to the job centre and asked for help only to be told that no one there could sign it and that it wasn't their problem. These were the same people that were pressing me every week on what I was doing to look for work and so forth, ..and handing me government money every fortnight too! Again though, it wasn't their fault really, more a systemic issue, and of course a product of my own failings to some extent.
Windrush..
We saw a similar problem with the Windrush generation issue. Again, that was a problem with ID. A problem of people, often poorer people, simply not being able to prove their identity. Or rather in this case prove their right to be in the UK. Again, if there was some easily accessible scheme open to everyone to help people with proving things like this then we could avoid such problems. After all governments and other bodies have so much information on people we should be able to easily cross reference other information if a single document or piece of paperwork goes missing somewhere along the line. The government certainly aren't as demanding about ID when they want something from us that's for sure. So it's a bit unfair on people if they've paid tax all their life to suddenly be told they "don't exist" because they lack a specific proof.
So I guess my overall position would be that I believe people should be required to show ID to vote, but that I'd also like the government to do much more to make it easy and simple for people to get that ID if they introduce such a scheme.
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