Digital ID technology will remain “essential” to the future of public services, despite the prime minister’s decision to scrap plans for its mandatory use among workers, according to a prominent think tank.
Sir Keir Starmer ditched a previously announced plan to require digital IDs to verify the right to work among job applicants, instead deciding their use will be optional alongside other traditional documentation.
Among the fiercest proponents of expanding the role of digital ID in daily life is former prime minister Tony Blair.
Though the policy change may appear a blow to the champions of the technology, the former Labour leader’s think tank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, has described the move as a “change in approach” rather than a “change in direction”.
“Removing mandatory digital ID from right-to-work checks is a change in approach, not a change in direction,” said Ryan Wain, executive director of policy and politics at TBI.
“Digital identity remains essential if we want public services that work in the way people now expect, with less friction, fewer forms and services that actually join up.”
Wain said that it is more important to create a tool good enough that people choose to use it, rather than requiring them to do so.
“People who can pay for more personalised and preventative services already get them. Government should be aiming to make that the standard, not the exception,” he said.
“If digital ID makes everyday interactions with the state easier, faster and more personalised, people will choose it.
“Getting the design and rollout right is how you build public trust, and it’s the foundation for genuinely modernising public services.”
The government’s push for digital ID has spurred significant controversy, with data suggesting the majority of the population do not trust the technology.
 "How Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey registers himself as a trademark to combat unauthorized use of artificial intelligence – Firstpost")
