Author: londonist

It's good to see the UK government moving on digital identity again, following many years of drift and uncertainty.

Rebecca and I chatted about the state of public sector tech for Mantis PR's new podcast, TechToTransform.

It's complicated. My research on citizen digital ID for Think Digital Partners showed that

The concept of an internet identity 'layer' will sound a bit odd to those outside the telecoms industry, but it's a nice way to explain the problem we have right now with digital ID.

There's a lot of AI doom and gloom around at the moment. But the story is not particularly coherent, and the cycle of disappointment goes something like this:

Whilst anti-social behaviour is as old as humans, what is new and urgent is our need for trust in the digital realm. After all, that’s where most of us live now.

Less is more for politicians on social media, it seems.

This week a beleaguered Prime Minister and Chancellor finally bowed to the inevitable, approving a five year settlement allowing for an inflation-busting rise in NHS funding.

Addressing the Police Federation conference is a tough gig for any politician, and it was there that Theresa May won her now-forgotten reputation for steeliness by taking her fight to the audience. But new Home Secretary Sajid Javid has made a conciliatory start, riffing on his personal links to the police and hinting at softened budget… Continue reading On tech support for Home Office control →

You could see this week’s ‘blue passports’ furore coming a mile off. Back in October 2016, when HM Passport Office first engaged the market about the new £490m passport production contract, I predicted - in a note to clients - “howls of nationalistic protest should a French or German competitor win this iconic British contract… Continue reading On passports to protectionism →