Tony Blair: Digital ID system can stop populists, bring order to illegal immigration

Tony Blair has another argument for introducing digital IDs in the UK – fighting populism.

The former British Prime Minister has previously stated that a national digital ID system could allow citizens better access to government services, prevent crime and benefit fraud as well as lower costs in public administration. But the Labour government should introduce digital IDs for another reason and that is bringing order into illegal immigration.

“What the populists do is they take a real grievance and they exploit it but they very often don’t want to have a solution because solutions are much tougher than talking about problems,” says Blair. “The grievance would be on immigration that the thing is out of control.”

A digital ID system would also lower benefit fraud which would discourage immigrants coming to the UK to take advantage of its government hand-outs while slipping into the grey economy, Blair said in an interview with The Times last week.

The UK government recently announced its plans to introduce the Gov.uk digital wallet and app this year. The wallet will be used to ease access to public services for British residents and will hold mobile driving licenses (mDL), digitized Veteran Cards and other digital documents. By the end of 2027, the platform will also be used for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and all other government-issued credentials.

The UK has also revealed “A blueprint for modern digital government,” which sets out a six-point plan for government digital reform, including technologies such as AI. Alongside the new plans, the government is reorganizing the Government Digital Service (GDS) office which will be responsible for the Gov.uk digital wallet and app, along with other digital public infrastructure initiatives.

During the interview, the former Prime Minister repeated his calls to use digitalization to create a smaller, more efficient state and called on the government to introduce facial recognition systems to drive down crime.

Law enforcement agencies in London and Wales have been trialing live facial recognition (LFR) with the Metropolitan Police announcing in December that they have arrested 540 individuals with the help of the technology. The introduction of facial recognition systems, however, is also causing concerns among the public and lawmakers. The Labor government has promised to conduct a series of discussions on the police use of LFR technology.

“I don’t know why we have to keep on trialing all this stuff forever. Just get it introduced,” says Blair. “Everywhere it is trialled it has a dramatic impact on crime. It allows you to trace people. We should be accelerating all of this.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  immigration  |  UK