Story perspectives

Burnham Drops £1.8bn Digital ID, Funds Cost-of-Living

7/19/2026

Summary

Story summary

Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the UK will drop the planned digital ID system.
The £1.8 billion three-year budget for the scheme will be reallocated to help with everyday cost-of-living pressures, while right-to-work checks remain mandatory under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Public opposition featured a petition with three million signatures, protests, and a Deltapoll showing 61 % of respondents worry about monitoring.

History

Historical Context

The Labour-led 2006 Identity Cards Act, championed by Tony Blair after 9/11, created a biometric register that issued about 15,000 cards before the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition repealed it with the Identity Documents Act 2010. Gordon Brown and Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone announced the scrap, noting an £86 million four-year saving and the February 2011 destruction of the register.

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Story summary

Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the UK will drop the planned digital ID system.
The £1.8 billion three-year budget for the scheme will be reallocated to help with everyday cost-of-living pressures, while right-to-work checks remain mandatory under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Public opposition featured a petition with three million signatures, protests, and a Deltapoll showing 61 % of respondents worry about monitoring.

1 / 2