Andy Burnham will scrap Labour’s digital ID scheme when he becomes Prime Minister, as part of a “reset of priorities” over the cost of living crisis.
The incoming Prime Minister said on Saturday that he would ditch the programme, set out only months ago by Sir Keir Starmer, and spend the money saved on “improving everyday life”.
Burnham’s decision marks a clear break from his successor, who approved the divisive plans last September in a bid to combat illegal migration.
The proposed “Brit card” would have detailed the holder’s residency status, name, date of birth and nationality, alongside their photograph.
The plans were strongly backed by former Labour Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair and former Conservative leader Sir William Hague.
Digital ID to cost £600m per year
But a spokesperson for Burnham said his government will instead “put its focus where people need it right now: creating breathing space and delivering change they can feel in their everyday lives,” Burnham’s spokesperson said.
“That means all the time and resource that was 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.”
The programme would have cost around £600m per year, according to estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
“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,” Burnham’s camp added.
Burnham’s decision to drop the scheme was backed by Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell, who said that his government wants to “clear the decks […] of the other things that might distract” from the cost of living.
She told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “It’s not just about the money. It’s actually about the attention and the focus, so that the whole of government machinery can work in service of the agenda and the vision that the Labour government is setting out.”
Burnham aired concerns
Burnham first signalled his plans to scrap digital ID last autumn, when he told the Labour conference that he did not support the scheme.
He cited his own experience of attempting to push through ID cards, when he was a junior Home Office minister under Blair’s government.
He had said: “I’m not kind of arguing against the principle. I was very pro, actually, I thought there was a real clear case for it.
“But […] I think there’s a risk of an opportunity-cost situation here where something can consume a huge amount of time and actually doesn’t come through.”
The Conservatives’ shadow technology secretary, Julia Lopez, has accused Burnham of “trying to pretend he’s riding to the rescue” after Labour “wasted millions of pounds on this project”.
