{"id":700268,"date":"2026-07-19T17:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T17:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/700268\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T17:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T17:29:08","slug":"burnham-to-scrap-digital-id-to-focus-on-cost-of-living-in-reset-of-priorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/700268\/","title":{"rendered":"Burnham to scrap digital ID to focus on cost of living in \u2018reset of priorities\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andy Burnham will scrap Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s flagship digital ID programme for all adults when he becomes prime minister on Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Burnham\u2019s office described the move as a \u201creset\u201d, with money earmarked shifted to focus on \u201cthe daily priorities facing people across the country\u201d.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the incoming PM said his government would spend time and resources where it\u2019s most needed, such as helping with the cost of living.<\/p>\n

The Office for Budget Responsibility estimated last November that the programme would cost \u00a31.8 billion over three years.<\/p>\n

Downing Street rejected this figure but did not provide an estimate of its own, which a parliamentary committee noted earlier this year left open the possibility it could be more.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir announced digital ID plans ahead of last year\u2019s Labour conference, saying it would be mandatory for right-to-work checks as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration.<\/p>\n

Ministers expected the programme to go further, becoming the \u201cbedrock of the modern state\u201d in a system of \u201cgovernment by app\u201d.<\/p>\n

But support for digital IDs collapsed after Sir Keir announced the plans, and ministers later said it would be voluntary for right-to-work checks.<\/p>\n

Shadow technology secretary Julia Lopez said: \u201cLabour have wasted millions of pounds on this project and now Andy Burnham is trying to pretend he\u2019s riding to the rescue.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter pressure from the Conservatives, mandatory ID was already apparently off the table. Andy Burnham now needs to explain whether that was untrue, or whether he is simply claiming credit for a decision that had already been taken.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy Burnham should stop the political theatre and be clear about what exactly he is scrapping. Only the Conservatives have the team and the plan to restore common sense to public policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter <\/a>for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. <\/p>\n

Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart described it as \u201ca huge win for all those who have fought tooth and nail to stop the Government from pushing through its doomed mandatory digital ID scheme\u201d. <\/p>\n

Jack Coulson, head of advocacy at Big Brother Watch, welcomed the decision which marks the first major break from Sir Keir\u2019s policies that Burnham has confirmed before taking office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He is expected to provide further detail of his plans on Monday after visiting Buckingham Palace to \u201ckiss hands\u201d with King Charles and then formally invited to enter No 10.<\/p>\n

Allies have said he intends to make a \u201cdynamic start\u201d to his premiership and he is expected to use a speech to set out plans on the cost of living and highlight his core theme of devolving power from Whitehall to regions across the UK.<\/p>\n

Reports have suggested he could be preparing to break with another of Sir Keir\u2019s policies and approve further oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.<\/p>\n

Writing on his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump pounced upon these reports with glee, claiming that the people of Aberdeen will be “dancing in the streets”.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir Starmer is handing over leadership of the Labour Party \u2013 and the country \u2013 to Andy Burnham Credit: PA Images<\/p>\n

The incoming prime minister has not confirmed reports that he is considering approving new fossil fuel production, particularly in the North Sea\u2019s Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.<\/p>\n

However, claiming that Burnham said he would, Trump wrote: \u201cThe People of Aberdeen, in Scotland, are dancing in the streets because the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has stated that he will be opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil!\u201dThe president, a vocal supporter of fossil fuels, said further drilling in the North Sea would \u201cmake the United Kingdom, from a Poverty Stricken Disaster, to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the World\u201d.And in his latest attack on wind power he suggested the UK would \u201cmove the old and horrible looking windmills, which loom over and destroy the City of Aberdeen\u201d.Earlier on Sunday, Labour\u2019s deputy leader Lucy Powell said Burnham would stick to the party\u2019s manifesto commitments on the North Sea while pursuing a \u201cmore pragmatic approach\u201d.Labour\u2019s 2024 manifesto, which Burnham has promised to honour, said the party would not issue new North Sea licences, arguing they would \u201cnot take a penny off bills\u201d or improve energy security while accelerating climate change.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump has already weighed in on reported policy of Andy Burnham that has not been confirmed. Credit: AP<\/p>\n

But the incoming prime minister is said to be \u201copen-minded\u201d about the policy. <\/p>\n

He could claim not to be breaking the manifesto pledge by approving projects at the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields, where licences have already been granted, while still not issuing any new licences.<\/p>\n

Burnham has pledged to reach out to other parties and end a culture of political \u201cpoint scoring\u201d at Westminster.<\/p>\n

However, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said she would \u201cscore as many points as possible if it means the right thing for the country\u201d.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cWhat I\u2019m not going to do is give Andy Burnham a blank cheque. This is a man who doesn\u2019t want scrutiny, he doesn\u2019t want anyone asking him tough questions, he just wants to be a people pleaser.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Westminster to Washington DC – our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below… <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Burnham will scrap Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s flagship digital ID programme for all adults when he becomes prime…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":700269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-700268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}