Burnham plans to scrap UK digital ID scheme and elevate AI minister

Andy Burnham plans to cancel the UK’s digital ID scheme, a program the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated would cost about £1.8 billion from 2026-27 to 2028-29, Reuters reported. He is also preparing to make a minister for artificial intelligence a Cabinet-level post for the first time, according to The Sunday Times, a shift that moves government attention from identity infrastructure to AI adoption.

The decision unwinds one of Keir Starmer’s major technology policies. Starmer’s government had presented digital identity as a tool to reduce illegal working, held private discussions on how the system could be built, and defended the proposal against civil liberties groups. Burnham, the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade, appears to be treating the scheme as expendable early in his tenure.

A spokesperson for Burnham said the new government would put resources toward areas that people felt more directly. “One of the first things this government will do is put its focus where people need it right now: creating breathing space and delivering change they can feel in their everyday lives,” the 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 government has not disclosed how much would be saved by dropping the project. Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the savings were “not an insignificant amount,” while arguing that the broader effect would be to free government capacity for other priorities. The OBR’s November 2025 estimate remains the clearest public figure: about £1.8 billion over three financial years.

From compulsory Brit Card to cancellation

Starmer’s initial plan, branded the “Brit Card,” was more expansive than the later version. It called for a mandatory digital credential containing a worker’s name, nationality, date of birth, residency status and photograph. Ministers said the system would make it harder for people without permission to work in the UK to obtain jobs.

The proposal drew objections from privacy and civil liberties organizations, including the Open Rights Group and Big Brother Watch. Critics warned that the system could amount to a national identity program under another label, with risks around surveillance, data collection and future expansion beyond its stated purpose.

Ministers softened the plan in October 2025, saying participation would be voluntary and that existing documents, including passports, could still be used for identity checks. Burnham’s decision goes further by abandoning even that reduced version.

AI gets Cabinet access

While digital identity is being dropped, AI is being moved closer to the center of government. The Sunday Times reported that Burnham intends to elevate the minister for AI to Cabinet rank, with the role expected to focus on AI use across government and support for the UK’s AI sector. Details on which department will house the role are expected next week.

“I want Britain to be one of the great technology countries of the world,” a Burnham spokesperson told The Sunday Times. “Building the companies, the jobs and the industries that come with that. That's exactly why the minister for AI belongs in Cabinet.”

For technology companies selling into Whitehall, the signal is direct. A national digital identity build-out is no longer the near-term opportunity it appeared to be under Starmer, while AI policy and public-sector adoption are gaining political seniority. The government has not yet set out budgets, procurement plans or implementation targets for the elevated AI role.

This story draws on original reporting from The Register.