I've been watching the thick of it recently and even though it's a comedy, the incompetence is pretty spot on
this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2026
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I'd also recommend watching Yes Minister so you can laugh at the irony when they're discussing implementing a national ID card and you forget that it was filmed in the 80s.
I'm working my way through that one now. One of the first episodes they try to cut civil service staff but end up hiring a 5000 extra so they know which ones to cut. Reform recently spent £5m in Derbyshire on consultants to "find savings".
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Prime Minister's remark about British newspapers is IMHO the apex of both series.
I'm currently searching for stuff to torrent so I'll get on that right away
So now it will be an intentionally ineffective unintentional waste of money, rather than an unintentionally ineffective unintentional waste of money.
I'm not sure that's actually any improvement at all.
I know I'm a weirdo in this regard but I would voluntarily get a digital ID from the government. I can see how it would be beneficial in accessing public services but also private services too. I use the Government Gateway account for a wide range of things already including state benefits and self assessment, and it would be great if I could use the same account to prove my identity when signing up for bank accounts.
Right now, to prove my identity to my bank, I have to take a photo of my driving licence, and a video of my face. Then, in probably the most humiliating and degrading thing I have ever been asked to do by my phone, I have to SMILE AT THE CAMERA in order to trigger a selfie to be taken.
My driving licence, video and selfie-with-enforced-smile is then sent to a company that uses "AI" to determine my identity. Now, I know that they do not always use AI to do this, because my wife used to work for this company, and she spent all day looking at people's photos and driving licences to see if they matched. They were able to provide 24/7 service by having large offices in 3 different time zones, so that an 8-10 hour work day would span the full 24 hour day.
That entire process for verifying my ID with my bank is way more dystopian, alienating and humiliating than signing up for a digital ID with the government. So while I don't support mandatory ID, I do support a government issued ID that was widely recognised by banks, workplaces, estate agents, and other private institutions that are necessary for modern life.
All that drop in ratings, for nothing. Absolute incompetence.
It wouldn't have prevented the dreaded boat people from working, because it's all under the table anyway. It would just have been annoying and intrusive.
Yet at the same time, a free to access, zero knowledge proof ID system could be useful to have. It just can't be mandatory.
Despite this U-turn the plan is still there, neither the scheme nor the giant price tag (1.8 billions pounds!) have gone away entirely. The government wants to introduce Digital IDs, and while they might not be mandatory at first, they could create a digital surveillance infrastructure that could fundamentally change how we live.
Once this system is in place, 'mission creep' is inevitable. We will be forced to use digital ID more and more in our daily lives. It will be used for profiling and surveillance, tracking our interactions with the State and more.
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/campaign/say-no-to-digital-id/
Just get on with it. It’s 2026