You've got to love the Lib Dems, going from craziness to craziness. It looks like the crowning achievement of their time in the coalition will be to get details of a holders sex removed from passports.
Apparently it might upset a few transgender people, and those who happen to have the genitalia of both sexes, and removing it will avoid potentially embarassing situations at border controls.
Why stop there though? There's so much else wrong with the passport that might upset people, let's overhaul it totally.
The photograph obviously has to go. Women who wear burkas, people from obscure tribes who believe being photographed steals their soul, those with a phobia, the list of problems is endless. Not to mention that a photograph will lead to discrimination by revealing race, gender, and so on.
Age. Definitely not. Ageism can be the only result. Gone.
Nationality. It's discriminatory against those not British citizens, and may hurt their feelings, to have British Citizen plastered over our passports. Gone.
That leaves issue date and expiry date, no problems there, although expiry could be considered a social stigma and will have to be further investigated in future.
And, Name. After careful consideration that will remain, although we did commission a rights committee to study the equality impacts of name as a means whereby gender and ethnicity could be identified.
A further study has been commissioned to examine the possibility of replacing name with a number or a colour coded sequence like a rainbow so that the last vestiges of information which may lead to discrimination or upset can be consigned to history.
The removal of these details has left us with some space.
To replace Nationality there will be an informative, edifying, and uplifting slogan. As a security measure this will vary according to the issue date of the passport.
The first print run of the new style passport will feature "A hate incident is : Any incident, which may or may not constitute a criminal offence, which is perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate."
Photographs will now depict edifying and uplifting scenes from modern Britain and its culturally rich diversity. Passport holders will be able to choose from a selection of stock images.
So far photographs included are : a Mosque, a doner kebab (halal), Trevor Philips, a gay pride rainbow, a selection of art from ethnic artists.
Further images will be available to choose from soon.
Crazy, isn't it?
Sadly, it does seem a logical end to all this madness, the removal of everything in case it offends or upsets someone.
Shame we can't remove politicians like Lynne Featherstone, and the rest of the Liberal Democrats, from public view and influence because of the offense and upset they cause to common sense and to the majority of the British people.
You've got to love the Lib Dems, going from craziness to craziness. It looks like the crowning achievement of their time in the coalition will be to get details of a holders sex removed from passports.
