Incoming UK prime minister Andy Burnham has confirmed the government is abandoning a controversial digital ID card scheme introduced by his predecessor, Keir Starmer. The plan had faced fierce public opposition, with critics warning it would enable state surveillance, and its cancellation marks a significant policy reversal following Starmer's resignation and Burnham's formal appointment as prime minister this week.

The scrapped scheme had been projected to cost £1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) over three years, though that figure was disputed amid claims the funding had never actually been allocated. Opposition to the plan generated close to three million signatures on a parliamentary petition, making it the second-largest of its kind on record. Chancellor John Healy said the money saved would instead fund a tax cut to reduce household electricity bills this winter. The episode echoes a similar identity card programme scrapped in 2011 under a new coalition government after being introduced by Tony Blair's administration in the 2000s.