Thread by @monlouhawk

EU citizens will have to rely on a digital-only status to prove their rights after June next year.

To me, it is sheer common sense that a physical backup is needed, because digital - while lovely when it works - doesn't always work.

I've been arguing this from...

... first principles for almost two years now.

We know large computer systems often fail - in general.

But recently, the list of just Government IT failures have been staggering.

Let me list a few, then tell me that EU citizens don't need a physical backup of their status.

Let's first just look at the passage of the immigration bill through parliament. (I've chosen that bill because there's an amendment on it, to give us physical proof of status, to be debated and voted on tomorrow, Monday 5th October).

Failure 1: 9 September, email system fails which determines which Lords speak when.

After a while they find a backup email address to sort it out another way.

Yet EU citizens? #DeniedMyBackup

Failure 2: 14 September, Parliament TV suddenly stopped showing the debate while I was watching it.

The debate continued, but I was cut off from it - luckily there is a written backup in the form of Hansard so I could read it the next day.

But EU citizens? #DeniedMyBackup

Failure 3: 30 Sep. The virtual voting system fails. At least an hour of debating time is lost. The fault cannot be fixed. At least it affects all peers equally rather than just a handful of them.

Backup option - postpone voting to Monday 5 Oct.

But EU citizens? #DeniedMyBackup

That's just on this one bill. Let's look at some other govt IT things, and I'm still only talking about the last few weeks.

Counting of Covid tests. All went pearshape from 24 September we hear.

But at least these are just numbers, statistics.

But EU citizens? #DeniedMyBackup

The Conservative virtual conference.

Apparently many couldn't watch Michael Gove. Ok maybe this is an IT failures I don't mind so much...

But EU citizens? #DeniedMyBackup

Digital is great, WHEN IT WORKS.

But digital involves a lot of moving parts, and if any one part fails, the whole check fails.

And these are checks with consequences for people's lives.

Job opportunities lost, bank accounts not opened, rentals missed out on...

#DeniedMyBackup