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, 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.