A spokesman for the leader of the British Labour Party said that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who will officially take office on Monday, will abolish the government's controversial digital ID program after coming to power. The spokesperson said that the cross-party parliamentary committee evaluated this digital ID card project as a “complete failure” and that the financial resources originally invested in the project will be transferred to Burnham's key livelihood issues. Burnham was elected leader of the ruling Labor Party on Friday, and he will take office as prime minister on Monday. Stammer introduced a digital ID card plan in September last year, requiring all workers to hold digital IDs. The original purpose was to crack down on illegal immigrants and hedge against the political influence of the British Reform Party. However, the policy sparked strong opposition from the public, and Stammer lifted the mandatory processing requirement in January of this year. A Burnham spokesperson said, “The original plan was to invest all the human and financial resources in the national digital ID card project, which will be invested in the areas most urgently needed, such as relieving pressure on people's living expenses.” The UK Budget Accountability Office estimated in November last year that the total cost of this digital ID card project was about 1.8 billion pounds in the three fiscal years 2026/27 to 2028/29.

A spokesman for the leader of the British Labour Party said that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who will officially take office on Monday, will abolish the government's controversial digital ID program after coming to power. The spokesperson said that the cross-party parliamentary committee evaluated this digital ID card project as a “complete failure” and that the financial resources originally invested in the project will be transferred to Burnham's key livelihood issues. Burnham was elected leader of the ruling Labor Party on Friday, and he will take office as prime minister on Monday. Stammer introduced a digital ID card plan in September last year, requiring all workers to hold digital IDs. The original purpose was to crack down on illegal immigrants and hedge against the political influence of the British Reform Party. However, the policy sparked strong opposition from the public, and Stammer lifted the mandatory processing requirement in January of this year. A Burnham spokesperson said, “The original plan was to invest all the human and financial resources in the national digital ID card project, which will be invested in the areas most urgently needed, such as relieving pressure on people's living expenses.” The UK Budget Accountability Office estimated in November last year that the total cost of this digital ID card project was about 1.8 billion pounds in the three fiscal years 2026/27 to 2028/29.