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News Release 26th February 2005SCHOOLS AGAINST I.D. CARDSAll 5 High schools in the Lichfield Parliamentary constituency competed on Friday night for the Michael Fabricant-Arthur Price of England Schools Parliamentary Speaking Competition and all 5 argued strongly against the Motion: 'That this House believes that all British residents shall be issued with identity cards and that this will help in the fight against crime and terrorism.' Michael Fabricant says: "The standard of debate was probably the highest since the Competition began back in 1993. All five schools in the area - Chase Terrace Technology College, Chasetown Specialist Sports College, The Friary School, King Edward VI School, and Nether Stowe High School - argued against the introduction of ID cards on the basis that the technology is unreliable and that its introduction would be an expensive failure. The depth of knowledge was impressive with one speaker showing an ID card from occupied Holland in the 1940s. It was quite clear that the arguments presented by Home Secretaries David Blunkett and Charles Clarke have failed to convince the youngsters of Lichfield and Burntwood. If this were a focus group, Tony Blair would be worried." For the first time since the Competition began, Mister Speaker was recruited from the European Parliament: Malcolm Harbour MEP and for the first time, all 5 schools agreed on their stance with regard to the motion: all opposed it. The school which won the cup for the best overall team was King Edward VI School, Lichfield. It members comprised Charlotte Millar, William Stevens, and Fiona Davies. The cup for the best overall speaker was won by Stephen Morgan of Nether Stowe High School.
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