Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.
New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has officially announced the end of the country’s plans for a national digital ID in one of his first acts in office.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: If you’re unaware, former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the digital ID plan last year, pitching it as a way to crack down on illegal working and let people prove their identity without needing utility bills or other forms of documentation. The plan, nicknamed “BritCard,” would have given every person living in the UK a government-issued digital identity. The government planned to enforce rollout by requiring employers to verify that every employee had one. This move started a lot of shit, with nearly three million people signing a parliamentary petition against it, making it one of the biggest the country has ever seen. Officials eventually made some adjustments in January, dropping the mandatory element and saying the scheme would be voluntary.
What’s going on now: On his first day in office Monday, Burnham confirmed the digital ID plan was dead, though his office had already signaled the move over the weekend, before he met King Charles III. “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,” a spokesperson said, describing it as “a change in direction towards improving everyday life and strengthening local economies over expensive national government schemes.”
Burnham has since announced that the redirected money will go toward scrapping the 5% VAT on household electricity bills starting October 1, a move expected to save a typical household roughly $60 a year at a cost of about $1.1 billion this financial year. In a statement, he said, “We’re taking immediate action to cut taxes on energy bills, put more money in people’s pockets and bring back hope.”
Despite all of this, not everyone is celebrating. The Tony Blair Institute has been in digital ID’s corner from the jump, calling the move the wrong step and saying the scheme was “long overdue.”






