UK Drops Digital ID Scheme

Incoming UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, plans to cancel the government’s proposed national digital identity scheme and redirect the associated resources towards cost-of-living measures.

According to Reuters ¹, Burnham’s office said abandoning the programme would be among his first actions after taking office. The scheme was announced by Keir Starmer’s government in September 2025, initially as a smartphone-based credential that would become mandatory for proving the right to work by the end of the current Parliament.

That compulsory element was withdrawn in January 2026 following political and public opposition. The revised policy retained mandatory digital right-to-work checks, but allowed people to use alternatives such as biometric passports and electronic immigration status rather than a single government-issued digital ID.

The cancellation follows criticism from the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, which described the original launch as a ‘fiasco’. It concluded that the policy had been announced without adequate consultation or a credible implementation roadmap. The Office for Budget Responsibility provisionally estimated the scheme would cost £1.8 billion between 2026/27 and 2028/29.