Editorial

Should HMG appoint a ‘Chief Blockchain Officer’?

Tory MP says such a role could offer valuable help in suggesting ways to reduce annual government expenditure by as much as 1%

Posted 9 July 2018 by Gary Flood


Forget replacing David Davis – what the UK may actually need: a Blockchain tsar.

That’s the suggestion at least – minus, of course, the Brexit angle – of an intriguing report issued last week by Conservative MP for Walsall North, Eddie Hughes.

In a study entitled Unlocking Blockchain: Embracing New Technologies To Drive Efficiency and Empower The Citizen, Hughes argues a public-facing ‘Chief Blockchain Officer’ could conduct useful, transparent research into how distributed ledger could be used to improve public sector processes and so save taxpayer money.

Translated into pounds shillings and pence, a 1% saving through such efficiency might equate to as much as £8bn a year, says the study, published by Conservative Think Tank ‘Freer’.

Himself a keen Brexiteer, Hughes also states that UK competency in the Blockchain could increase the country’s international competitiveness.

Hughes also suggests the UK takes steps to make itself an acknowledged international Blockchain powerhouse, offering incentives such as a well-funded global competition, to attract inward investment and seed more start-ups in the approach.