I agree - why on earth are they doing all this, when they have been told over and over that it won't work, and will cost a fortune? I suspect that it started as a macho reaction to the post 911 Bush era, with Bush's lapdog faithfully following his master; anyway, I doubt we'll ever know.
To answer Gipsy Queen's question a few posts back, I recently wrote to my MP on this and other subjects, as requested by BALPA. The relevant part of his reply is :
"Conservatives have made it absolutely clear that should we win the next election, we would immediately scrap this scheme .... The government's latest cost estimate for providing IDs to British nationals is £4.8bn, although independent studies have suggested that this number could in fact be far higher ...."
I've never supported any particular party, but the conclusion is obvious ....