Livingston by-election 2005

'ID cards won't catch criminals, more police will.' Cllr Angela Constance, 25 th September 2005.

Nationalist candidate speaks out against ID cards

By Robbie Dinwoodie, Chief Scottish Political Correspondent, in Herald 26 th September 2005

THE SNP candidate for the Livingston by-election said that if she is elected as an MP she will vote against introduction of identity cards.

Angela Constance claims that the money for such a scheme would be better spent putting more police on the streets.

She made the comment as she announced figures showing that crimes involving possession of an offensive weapon had more than doubled over the past eight years in West Lothian, while incidents involving possession of knives had gone up by two-thirds.

Ms Constance said: "Rising crime is a major concern in Livingston and across the Lothians.

"These figures show that some of the most threatening and worrying crimes are on the rise across the region."

She said voters were frustrated by Labour's response on crime, which she claimed was big on presentation and low on delivery.

"In recent days, Labour in West Lothian has voted to oppose more community police and in the UK it is determined to press ahead with the folly of expensive ID cards, when all evidence suggests that they will not work to tackle the crimes that impact most on our community."

"ID cards won't catch criminals, more police will," she said.