Allies of UK PM-to-be say Burnham drops digital ID idea
The UK’s next prime minister, Andy Burnham, will scrap the government’s plans for a digital identity scheme when he takes office, his allies say, signaling his intention to focus resources on kitchen table issues such as the cost of living.
Burnham, known as the “King of the North” for his work as the mayor of Greater Manchester in the northwest of England, said he will replace Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday and will announce his cabinet team of senior ministers.
With the contest said to be between Energy Minister Ed Miliband and Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood, attention has focused on who he will choose as chancellor.
Burnham will set out her domestic priorities in her first speech at Downing Street after visiting Buckingham Palace, where she will “kiss hands” with King Charles and officially take over from Starmer.
Burnham’s office said one of its first moves would be to abandon Labor’s plan for all workers to have a digital ID; It’s a plan designed to tackle illegal immigration but has been deemed a “fiasco” by a cross-party committee of MPs.
Starmer removed the ID requirement in January following criticism.
“All the time and resources that would have been spent on the national identity plan will instead go where it is needed most, such as helping with living costs,” Burnham’s spokesman said in a statement. he said.
Identity cards were abolished in the United Kingdom after the Second World War, and Britons generally use documents such as passports and driving licenses to prove their identity.
In November, the UK Office for Budget Responsibility estimated the cost of the ID scheme at around 1.8 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) between financial years 2026/27 and 2028/29.
Opposition Conservative Party MP Julia Lopez said: “Labour has spent millions of pounds on this project and now they are trying to act like Andy Burnham is coming to the rescue.”
Labor deputy leader and Burnham ally Lucy Powell said the savings from scrapping the plan might not be huge but the move was “a small example of reprioritisation”.
“This is an opportunity to restart, to refresh, to look at things that maybe not only consume resources but also distract from the government’s priorities,” he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg program on Sunday.
In interviews with both the BBC and Sky News, Powell did not mention other policies or details of Burnham’s cabinet team but said he would stick to the previous government’s commitment to new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised not to issue new licenses but to honor existing licenses such as the Rosebank and Jackdaw areas in Scotland; Regulators only approved revoking these licenses in 2025 after a legal challenge.
US President Donald Trump was quick to consider a possible change, saying on the Truth Social platform that “the people of Aberdeen in Scotland are dancing in the streets” because Burnham “has stated that he will open up the priceless North Sea Oil”.
In another area where Burnham could take action, Powell also said the government had the power to place struggling water companies such as Thames Water into “special measures”.
“Let’s see if the government will do this,” he told Sky News.
with PA
