David Davis and the IT industry

Via Conservative Home, Mr Eugenides, the NO2ID blog and Matthew Parris, this enjoyable little gem:

In one of the most furious rows between a section of British industry and the Tories in recent years, representatives of the IT sector and David Davis have clashed over the Tory decision to promise to scrap the ID card scheme. The row is covered on page two of today’s FT.

In essence, David Davis wrote to Intellect, the IT industry’s trade association advising them that an incoming Conservative government would scrap the iniquitous ID cards legislation and with it, effectively tear up all the cash cow moneymaking contracts that Intellect’s members planned to retire on. John Higgins, Intellect’s Director General, is not amused:

Firstly, it is important to state that the UK technology industry is neither for, nor against the policy of introducing ID cards in the UK.  This public policy debate took place and was voted upon in Parliament.  As an industry we are now working hard with the Identity and Passport Service to ensure that the ID cards procurement results in solutions which are practical and deliverable.  To this end, we believe it is wholly inappropriate for the industry to be used as a mechanism for scoring political points.

Ouch, that clearly stung. Of course they have a nothing for or against a massive, lucrative moneyfest for buggering up yet another government cesspool of technological shit. Who could possibly think otherwise?

Higgins’ barely disguised threat is reprehensible:

Moreover, it is highly likely that the manner of this intervention will undermine the confidence of the supplier community in any future Conservative Government honouring other contractual commitments which may have been entered into by previous administrations. It will potentially make companies wary of entering into any public sector contracts at all. Such a fall in confidence would inevitably affect business decisions companies make about investing in UK Plc generally.

Basher responds with a suitable blow to Higgins’ solar plexus:

I have received your letter of 6th February.  Your claim to be “neither for, nor against the policy of introducing ID cards in the UK”, given the clear commercial interest of a number of your members, is simply disingenuous.  Your dismissal of the serious objections of principle we have to ID cards as point-scoring demonstrates a failure to appreciate either the parameters of the public debate on ID cards or the depth of opposition.

I am afraid that your claim that an honest assertion of our intentions is somehow indicative of a general commercial bad faith is both incredible and insulting.

And, a specific response to that threat:

Your thinly veiled threat of penalty clauses, at taxpayer’s expense, is inappropriate and ill-judged.

Indeed. Looks like the retirement pad in the Bahamas is off, then…Delightfully understated, Davis’ letter effectively puts the industry in its place for what can only be described as the “only following orders” defence.

I’d have more faith in all of this, though, if the Conservatives had done the decent thing and elected Basher as their leader rather than the insipid Blair-alike Cameron.