De jure and de facto - compare and contrast.

Remind me - who is Home Secretary at the moment? Whoever it is has apparently said that ID cards will not be compulsory. Who are they kidding? You know what's going to happen - they will not be compulsory in law, but once they are introduced you will quickly find that you can't do many of the things you want to do without producing one - open a bank account, apply for any benefits to which you may be entitled, register with a GP and so forth. So they won't be compulsory, but you'll need to have one - what's the difference?