IF the recent National Identity Card programme had been fully implemented beyond 2010, a ‘government trial programme’ of ‘new voter ID measures’ (The Bolton News, October 11) would not be necessary now.

The National Identity Card was a plastic credit-card sized photo card containing essential written and electronic information. I still have my card, which is valid till 2020, but is of no real use as the scheme was scrapped before the full roll-out. If everybody had received one of these cards, as was planned, there would be no need for passports or driving licences to be used as forms of identification. Many voters have neither of these documents. With the increasing use of online transactions, many voters no longer receive paper utility bills, so this proof of identity is not available to them either.

With every UK citizen holding a National Identity card, this would not only smooth the process of voting but also be a single means of proving identity when dealing with government departments, financial institutions, healthcare providers – in fact, anywhere that proof of identity is required.

To those who say that the carrying of identity cards in this country is an infringement of their civil liberties, I would say two things. First is that identity cards were issued to everybody living in the UK during the 1939-1945 war (I still have mine). Second is: nothing to hide, nothing to fear.

Margaret Gilmour

Bolton