From legacy to leadership: upgrading the digital state
Think tank: Re:State
Author(s): Laxshia Ganesharatnam; Joe Hill
May 18, 2026
This report from UK think tank Re:State makes the case for forcing government staff to take the risk from obsolete IT seriously by creating a new Digital Modernisation Taskforce.
The State is inseparable from the digital technology it uses. It is impossible to imagine a government without the software which underpins the everyday interactions with public services and the core administrative functions of government. It has undeniably changed the public sector in fundamental ways.
But much of the potential of digital technology to transform the way the State operates has been left on the table, by governments of all parties who have neglected to invest in software in a way which lets the government’s technology stack keep pace with the modern world. Public services are held back from radical transformation by a deadweight of ‘legacy IT’ – systems which are outdated, on the way to being obsolete, and inevitably not part of the future.
From legacy to leadership explores how government should tackle the challenge of fixing legacy IT, and the step changes in strategy, funding and procurement which are long overdue.
