Digital ID is a chance to prove government can still work
The only constant in politics today is volatility.
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Party loyalties that once felt unshakable have fractured. Voters are searching for change, and in that search they will go anywhere – as the steady flow of councillors and activists towards Reform shows.
What Reform has understood is the national mood. They don’t have a detailed programme, but they’ve captured something real: the sense that Britain isn’t working as it should, and that people want answers now, not later.
This feeling isn’t confined to Britain. In our recent paper Disruptive Delivery, the Tony Blair Institute surveyed over 12,000 people across the UK, US, Australia, Canada and France. The results were sobering. Just 26% of people in the UK believe the next generation will be better off than the last – the lowest figure of any country surveyed. That’s not just economic pessimism; it’s a crisis of confidence in progress itself.
The challenge is also the opportunity. If government can move faster, solve visible problems, and demonstrate real results, it can show people that politics can deliver again. This is what we mean by disruptive delivery – not incremental reform or endless reviews, but clear, practical action that shows change is possible.
Digital ID is one such example. It has been making the headlines recently, and rightly so. We welcome the fact the government is finally pushing it forward – but the real test is delivery.
Done properly, Digital ID will transform public services, levelling them up to the fast, personalised experience we now expect from the private sector. Think about how easy it is to order in bulk from Amazon or book a taxi on Uber, compared with the hassle of securing a GP appointment or sorting out a driving test.
Digital ID will also take on the issue that causes anxiety and concern for the public: illegal migration. It will catch out dodgy employers who rely on forged papers, protect wages, and stop taxpayers being cheated. It could also save at least £2 billion a year by reducing fraud and better targeting support.
For the public, the benefits would be tangible: quick, secure proof of identity to rent a home, open a bank account, or access services – without the confusion of outdated paperwork.
Other countries are already showing the way. In Estonia, digital ID is directly tied to payroll and tax, streamlining services and cutting undeclared work. India’s Aadhaar system has securely connected over a billion people to basic services. The prize in Britain is not just efficiency – it’s proof that government can keep pace with people’s expectations.
Delivery matters because trust depends on it. Voters won’t be persuaded by slogans or strategies if the experience of daily life tells them nothing works.
But if government shows that it is able to deliver fast, fair, and practical reforms – like Digital ID – it can begin to restore belief in progress, and with it, faith in politics itself.
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Ryan Wain is the Executive Director of Politics at the Tony Blair Institute.
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