For those unfamiliar with the UK and its pleasant pastures seen, the changes being introduced this week will pass unnoticed. Indeed, for the vast majority of Britons, the fact that foreign nationals who apply for residency will now be required to apply for identity cards may also pass unseen. But this is an important change, and one with which no Briton can be entirely comfortable.

For too long, this government has been wed to the idea of introducing identity cards, without elucidating a clear argument for so doing.

This paper has consistently argued that some form of standardised electronic personal identity management system would be invaluable to citizens, and their desire to safeguard online and physical transactions, without compromising their rights to privacy.

Yet the ham-fisted attempts to first impose an ID card on a sceptical public, followed by the latest ruse to sneak it through the back door, have undermined the project. The government’s lamentable record on looking after personal data has heightened public concerns about ID cards.

It could -­ and should -­ have been so different. Consumers are becoming more attuned to the importance of identity in this digital world. The technologies that may help protect individuals and provide a robust identity, such as biometrics, are gaining acceptance.

The use of biometric readers, such as fingerprint scanners, even iris readers, are no longer the preserve of James Bond movies. They have become a workaday part of many of our lives.

As is so often the case with government IT projects that go awry, it is not the technology that is to blame, but the quality of leadership. So even if the deployment of ID cards passes off without a hitch, the scheme is fundamentally flawed because of a lack of public support and the perverse decision to ignore the recommendations of the Treasury-commissioned Crosby study.

It is a shame that for some senior government figures it appears to be more important to dogmatically pursue this cause, rather than take the time to build a system in which we can all believe. It is not yet too late to introduce a workable system for identity management, but it is looking increasingly unlikely that it will happen.