public sector
One of Labour's biggest technology projects is headed for the bin as Burnham reshuffles Whitehall's priorities
Andy Burnham is barely through the door at No. 10, and one of Keir Starmer's flagship tech projects is already heading for the shredder, with the incoming prime minister set to scrap the UK's digital ID scheme while creating a Cabinet-level minister for artificial intelligence.The move, reported by Reuters, kills off a policy Starmer spent the past year championing. His government pitched digital identity as a way to crack down on illegal working, held closed-door meetings on how to build it, and fought off privacy campaigners."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," a Burnham 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."
Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell echoed that message on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, saying the savings were "not an insignificant amount" but arguing the bigger benefit was freeing up the machinery of government to focus elsewhere.
