That David Davis is opposed to identification cards for British citizens, but not European Union migrants, sets a very worrying precedent, writes Young Fabians secretary Kuba Stawiski

It is frankly astonishing how quickly the defenders of civil liberties disappear when the subject of immigration is breached. Now, as part of the ‘generous and serious offer’, Britain’s zombie prime minister has proposed special identification cards for European Union citizens living in the UK. David Davis, who once resigned his seat in the House of Commons to trigger the most bizarre by-election in history on a civil liberties platform, sat nodding behind her back. Let us not forget the role the NO2ID campaign played in resurrecting the Conservative party in the noughties – civil liberties’ rhetoric once used to resonate with the British people.

Of all the signs around leaving the EU, the rhetoric around how to accommodate the more than three million EU citizens in the UK, some of whom have lived in Britain for decades, is perhaps the most troubling. These ‘citizens of nowhere’ now have nowhere to go for their security, for their family’s security, for the security of their right to live where they have lived for years. I say this as one such proud immigrant, for whom my Polish identity has been interwoven with Britishness since childhood.

Theresa May has form on the subject. The counter-productive – in that they negatively affected community relations and thus made the job of policing immigration more difficult – immigration ‘go home’ vans, dating from her time as home secretary under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, did not seem to affect her reputation in the post, traditionally considered a politician’s graveyard.

Failing to issue a unilateral guarantee has destroyed goodwill even among friendly nations such as Poland, where street names still celebrate Thatcher for confronting communism. The often-criticised pledge to bring immigration down to the ‘tens of thousands’, never achieved and unrealistic without crashing the economy, has served to cement elements of the current Conservative coalition. But failure to achieve has further undermined trust in politics. Nothing less than a return to the halcyon days of a low-immigration Britain will satisfy elements of that coalition. That is impossible to achieve without undermining any UK-EU trade deal and jeopardising industries reliant on immigration.

This pointless grandstanding is a result of decades in which British patriotism was never modernised. As Stephen Bush noted on 26 June, there is a cultural difference that affects how the UK and the EU approach sensitive matters. The UK, which has for decades maintained a haughty disdain for Europeans lecturing the country on human rights and liberties, frequently points out the current European framework is based on their chequered modern history. In the UK, as Bush wrote, the elites get away with saying ‘what’s the worst that could happen’.

For Europeans, a system without independent and external check and balances easily tends toward authoritarianism. We have seen it, remember. More importantly, certain acts have a historical significance beyond its immediate meaning – the issuing of special ID cards to a single segment of the population, no matter how benignly it is phrased, raises eyebrows. This is not to say ID cards are a bad idea in themselves. We Europeans all have them. It is the being singled out that is problematic – will we, as Kevin Maguire suggested, need to produce these on demand?

But perhaps most troubling is the shifting perspective on rights – that the government can withdraw rights held for years and decades because of a simple majority vote in a referendum. EU citizens can currently vote and stand in local elections in the UK. This is a vital element of local community integration and thus greatly beneficial to both migrants and the UK. This right is set to be abolished in May’s proposal, and, with a few exceptions, this has been passed over without a mention. Retroactive abolition of rights – is the UK not better than this?

There are dark undertones to the silence of civil libertarians such as Davis on the issues of EU migrants. I have no doubt he would speak out if British citizens were being issued ID cards – I trust, perhaps mistakenly, in the integrity of his views. But to not have a problem with ID cards being issued to EU migrants suggests he does not see it as part of his duty to represent their civil rights in government.

Effectively, members of parliament and the ministers implicitly act on behalf only of UK citizens, not their neighbours who cannot vote – a dangerous and divisive perspective that seeks to artificially divide communities and society. No wonder far fewer, according to recent statistics, EU citizens wish to migrate to the UK, with a 96 per cent drop in nurses applying for jobs in the UK, per the Nursing and Midwifery Council, with all the issues this will entail for the NHS.

Labour’s policy on the issue has remained on the moral high ground, if unclear. Keir Starmer has argued for a unilateral guarantee of EU citizens rights. Jeremy Corbyn has been ambiguous about freedom of movement while maintaining that existing migrants should not lose rights. A sign of a grown-up people and nations is that they learn from the mistakes and flaws of themselves and others. We need a quick reality check. Labour, to maintain its own coalition, must probably now argue for freedom of movement to be curtailed. But the rights of existing EU citizens should be maintained without change. It is a progressive policy. It is on the right side of history. It is economically sensible. And it strengthens the UK’s weak hand in a short and asymmetric negotiation.

But, more importantly, it might begin a long discussion to modernise the idea of patriotism that Labour can lead. Another Cool Britannia, at ease with itself, will be at ease with its EU migrant neighbours.

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Kuba Stawiski is secretary of the Young Fabians. He tweets at @kayes67

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