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What is puzzling elsewhere in Europe is that few issues in Britain are as controversial as the national identity system. Opponents have long decried ID cards as the path to an Orwellian surveillance state. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has already ruled out a suggestion that his Labor government should introduce digital ID cards to control immigration. But as Britain tries to repair and modernize its broken public services, despite conflicts and difficulties, it would make sense to incorporate a digital ID system into the plans.
Digital IDs have potential benefits that go far beyond old-fashioned photo ID cards. These universal digital identifiers typically combine personal details and biometric data, and can be used to simplify access to public services and dealing with private businesses. It can be expanded to store official documents, qualifications, membership cards and become a digital wallet. Estonia, the pioneer of the “electronic state” that its citizens can use Electronic identifiers For everything from ordering prescriptions to voting, the system saves grades 2 percent of GDP year. Other countries like AustraliaAnd Singapore Italy They have created digital identity systems, whether voluntary or mandatory.
A British e-ID card could promote public service reform, helping, for example, to consolidate personal health records and patient data and simplify social care payments. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a think tank set up by the former Prime Minister (a long-time proponent of digital identity), Estimates Such a scheme could boost public finances by around £2bn a year, mostly by reducing interest fraud and improving tax collection, as well as wider economic gains. It is considered a voluntary system, built partly on the existing – but low-profile – government. Single login An initiative to enable single sign-on to government services could be created within one parliamentary term and 90 per cent of citizens would sign up for it.
A functional digital identity can avoid searching for documents when opening bank accounts or buying a home, and help prevent identity theft. Supporters say a national ID system could also help limit “small boat” migrants crossing the canal. Anecdotal evidence suggests that one of the UK's main attractions is the perception that a lack of ID makes it easier to disappear into the gray economy than many of its European counterparts. Requiring an electronic ID for benefits and housing may be a disincentive for illegal immigrants and human trafficking rings.
There are plenty of reasons to be cautious. Having the right technology is vital given the sensitivity surrounding data privacy and the risks of hacking and cyberattacks. Britain has a poor record on public sector IT – think of the Post Office Horizon scandal. Some Labor insiders argue that the digital identity plan is too complex and politically damaging to add to the challenge of rebuilding already stretched and cash-starved services. Some suffer from the disdain that has decimated the post-9/11 national identity scheme, introduced by the Blair government in much better economic times.
But there are plenty of systems operating elsewhere that Britain can learn from or copy. Much of the public service's IT is so outdated that it's worth trying to jump to next-generation technology, as Estonia did in the 1990s. Privacy arguments become less compelling when most adults happily carry smartphones packed with apps that can track everything from the number of steps they take to the color of socks they buy.
While the opposition is still voting, moreover, a YouGov poll last year found More than half of UK adults support compulsory ID cards. UK e-ID requires discussion and consultation. It won't be easy. But if Britain really wants a modern state, this is an idea whose moment has come.
