Andy Burnham is set to axe Keir Starmer’s controversial digital ID card scheme the moment he walks into Downing Street on Monday, in what his team are calling a full “reset of priorities” for the Labour government.
The incoming Prime Minister plans to redirect whatever money and resources had been lined up for the digital ID programme straight towards helping people with the cost of living instead. It is a clear signal that Burnham wants to distance himself from some of Starmer’s more unpopular policies right from the off.
The digital ID scheme had been one of the more divisive ideas floated under Starmer’s leadership. Critics from both the left and right had raised concerns about civil liberties, data privacy, and whether the whole thing was even necessary in the first place. It never really caught on with the public, and Burnham’s team clearly see dumping it as an easy win heading into his first days in office.
Burnham has built his political reputation largely on being a straight-talking, no-nonsense figure who keeps his focus on bread and butter issues. His time as Mayor of Greater Manchester saw him champion causes like rough sleeping, transport, and working class communities. Scrapping a flagship tech project in favour of cost of living support fits neatly into that image.
The cost of living crisis has continued to grind away at households across England, with energy bills, food prices, and rent still putting serious pressure on millions of families. Burnham’s team have not yet spelled out exactly how the redirected resources will be used, but the message is clear enough. He wants people to feel the difference quickly.
It is a bold opening move. Ditching a policy from your own party’s previous leadership on literally day one sends a strong message, both to the public and to figures within Labour who were closely tied to Starmer’s agenda. Whether that creates any internal friction remains to be seen, but Burnham is clearly not hanging around when it comes to putting his own stamp on things.
The specifics around how much money was actually allocated to the digital ID scheme have not been made public, and Burnham’s team have been vague on the exact figures. That will likely draw some scrutiny in the coming days, with opposition politicians and journalists pushing for more detail on what the “reset” actually means in practice.
For now though, the symbolism is the point. Burnham wants voters to know that his priorities are different, and that the government is going to be focused on the things that affect people’s everyday lives rather than large-scale digital infrastructure projects that many never asked for.
Monday is shaping up to be a significant day in British politics. A new Prime Minister, a scrapped policy before lunchtime, and a government signalling it wants to move in a different direction. Whether Burnham can actually deliver on that promise is the bigger question, but as first moves go, this one is pretty hard to argue with.