Andy Burnham will scrap Keir Starmer’s Digital ID programme once he becomes Prime Minister – redirecting the nearly £2billion earmarked for the scheme.
The incoming government’s central priority is to focus on the daily issues facing people across the country.
Burham’s government has vowed to shift away from an ‘over-centralised model of government’ and instead allow every community to succeed.
Burnham will become Prime Minister on Monday after winning the overwhelming support of Labour backbenchers to replace Sir Keir as leader.
A spokesperson for Burnham said: ‘One of the first things this government will do is put its focus where people need it right now: creating breathing space and delivering change they can feel in their everyday lives.
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‘That means all the time and resources that were going to be spent on a national ID scheme will go instead to where it’s most needed, such as helping with the cost of living.
‘This government is determined to bring power back to communities, instead of hoarding it in Whitehall. We will work every day to lift this country back up to where it belongs – with growth in every postcode, and hope in every heart.’
Starmer proposed mandatory digital IDs back in September last year and earmarked £1.8billion across 2026/2027 and 2028/2029 for the scheme.
But after intense backlash against the plans – along with a heavily signed petition – the Prime Minister U-turned on his decision to make them mandatory earlier this year.
Sceptics of digital IDs were concerned about privacy, data breaches, and the potential erosion of civil liberties. Starmer and now the King have both said that the Digital ID rollout is not compulsory.
But even if having a digital ID is not made mandatory by law, it may have, in practice, become difficult to get by without one.
Matthew Feeney from Big Brother Watch told Metro last year that the UK needed more than just assurances from the Prime Minister before introducing the big change.
Countries such as Estonia, China, India, the United States, Costa Rica, Singapore, South Korea, the UAE, Canada, Japan, and Italy all have some form of digital ID available for their citizens.
The EU also announced plans last year to ensure citizens have access to a form of digital ID within the next decade.
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