One metric for the rise and fall of this government might end up being the progress of the rollout of digital ID.
The lack of a clear plan – despite the high profile announcement by the PM – means the destination still remains slightly opaque, and some cabinet ministers are sceptical.
However, the PM’s India trip suggests that there might just be a path to success, if things fall in Keir Starmer’s favour.
During his visit, Starmer met the boss of Infosys, Nandan Nilekani, who is behind the rollout of digital ID to more than 1.4 billion Indian citizens.
Afterwards, when I asked about it at the closing press conference of the India trip, he was infused by a fresh enthusiasm for the plan, not evident at the Labour gathering in Liverpool in the days after he first unveiled it.
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Below is what he said to me, transcribed in full.
But as you read it, notice how the PM’s explanation and justification for this scheme – which will be one of the biggest projects this government undertakes if it does happen – centres around convenience for citizens and makes no mention of the case originally used for it – to combat illegal migration.
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Starmer told me: “We did discuss [digital ID] yesterday. And in particular, the benefits that it has brought in India.
“We’ve obviously also looked at other countries – Estonia, for example. The speed with which it allows citizens here to access services, particularly financial services, is something that was recognised in our discussions yesterday and actually at the fintech discussion that we had today, as well.
“So, we’re looking at those examples of how digital ID helps individuals, with the processes that sometimes take too long and are too cumbersome, and makes it easier for them.”
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The answer is clear: the prime minister now puts personal convenience as the top justification.
While Starmer was locked in the Fintech summit, we visited Mumbai University to gauge opinion on digital ID, which has rolled out across India over the past 10 to 15 years.
We asked students as they could traditionally have been thought to be one of the more cautious groups in society towards a project which involves state intrusion into the lives of individuals.
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Among all the people that we talked to – and you can watch our video at the top of this page – there was a recognition of privacy concerns, worries about data leaks, and uncertainty about how some of the information might be used.
But every single person we stopped and talked to about it was nevertheless enthusiastically in favour – and said it had made their lives simpler and more efficient.
The net benefits of this scheme had landed with the Indian citizens we spoke to.
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The engagement from Infosys is also significant after the boss of Palantir, a rival tech company, gave the idea of a UK digital ID scheme a comprehensive shellacking last week.
For a moment, it looked like the corporate world might be pulling back from the scheme – so the engagement of a massive multinational corporation has come at just the right moment.
None of which is to downplay the obstacles.
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In a bizarre move, the Home Office appears to have been allowed to swerve responsibility for the project, which has gone instead to Liz Kendall’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which does not yet have any track record of major delivery.
One DSIT aide said that the young average age of staff at the newly formed department is an advantage, a claim which seems somewhat doubtful.
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So, Whitehall may tie itself up in knots over this project. Or, it might turn out that India’s cultural norms simply make it an easier place to roll out a scheme like this.
But on the basis of our enquiries, there is the potential case for a scheme that can be sold to a willing public.
