Burnham Ditches Digital ID to Focus on Cost of Living: Andy Burnham will drop plans to introduce a government-issued digital ID for all British adults when he becomes prime minister on Monday.
The move follows plans for more oil and gas production in the North Sea and will turn the focus to “the daily priorities facing people across the country”, Burnham’s office stated.
The government, under Sir Keir Starmer, had already diluted plans to implement a compulsory digital ID for workers in the UK.
Burnham’s spokesperson said ditching the plans altogether now means “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.”
“This reprioritisation of public resource reflects a change of direction to improve everyday lives and promote local economies, rather than expensive national government initiatives.
Digital ID Plans Previously Proposed
Plans for a digital ID scheme had been advanced by Sir Keir before Labour’s convention last year.
He said at the time that a compulsory digital ID for workers would make it easier to crack down on illegal aliens working and modernise the state.
Sir Keir added that as well as dealing with illegal migration, a digital ID system will allow people to establish their identity to access essential services swiftly, rather than having to seek for utility bills.
In November, the Office for Budget Responsibility put the cost of the programme at £1.8 billion over three years, a figure Downing Street denied.
In January, the government backtracked after close to three million people signed a parliamentary petition against the adoption of digital IDs.
Instead, ministers dropped the compulsory aspect of the initiative and reintroduced it as voluntary, saying digital IDs may in time let people do anything from managing their daycare to filling in tax returns on a “one stop” app.
Criticism of the Digital ID Scheme
Soon after, Home Affairs Committee Chair Dame Karen Bradley said the government was right to implement digital ID but had bungled the introduction.
Dame Karen said attempts to lay out the plans were “nothing short of a fiasco” in a report laying out the committee’s examination into the introduction and subsequent modifications to the digital ID policy which “raised fears of government over-reach into people’s lives”.
Burnham’s First Priorities as Prime Minister
Burnham will become prime minister after visiting King Charles III on Monday. “One of the first things this government will do is put its focus where people need it right now,” his office said.
The spokeswoman said scrapping digital ID will mean “reallocating the resources allocated for the scheme to the everyday priorities of the people”.
Deputy Labour leader and ally of Burnham, Lucy Powell, told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the money saved by eliminating the initiative was “not an insignificant amount” and will be “reprioritised and redistributed in different ways”.
“But it is not simply about money, it is about the attention and the focus and the whole of government machinery working in service of the agenda and the vision that the Labour government is setting out under Andy Burnham.”
Political Reactions
In response for the Conservatives shadow technology secretary Julia Lopez accused Burnham of “trying to pretend he’s riding to the rescue” after Labour “wasted millions of pounds on this project”.
“Mandatory ID was apparently off the table already after pressure from the Conservatives. Ms Nandy said: “Now Andy Burnham has to explain whether that was untrue, or whether he’s just taking credit for a decision that had already been taken.”
Liberal Democrat MP Lisa Smart said people will be “hugely relieved to know that they are not going to be forced to hand over their data any more so they can just get on with their daily lives”.
“We have long said the obscene sums earmarked for digital ID would be a huge waste of taxpayers’ money and it’s a relief that Burnham has woken up to that,” she said in a statement.
North Sea Oil and Gas Plans
The digital IDs update comes following reports that Burnham is set to reveal plans for expanded oil and gas drilling in the North Sea when he becomes prime minister.
The Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto, which the incoming leader indicated he would implement, had promised not to issue new licences but to honour current ones.
The details of the oil and gas plans remain unclear, but the future prime minister is anticipated to honour the manifesto vow.
This means the Labour leader might offer to accelerate existing plans to drill more in the North Sea, where many oil and gas licences issued in recent years remain mostly untapped for a range of reasons.
I don’t think it’s a change of policy, it’s more of a change of emphasis’, she said, adding that she expected Powell to adopt a “pragmatic approach” on oil and gas drilling.
Conservative Response
“These government plans are airy fairy,” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch cautioned in an interview aired Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg as Burnham prepares to enter office on Monday.
She accused Burnham of not knowing “what the country’s priorities are” and said the country needs a leader ready to “make tough decisions.”