UK Abandons National Digital ID Cards for the Second Time in Two Decades

Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government confirmed on July 21, 2026, that the UK is scrapping its mandatory digital ID card scheme, first announced by Keir Starmer in September 2025. A near-3-million-signature parliamentary petition opposed it. The move mirrors the 2011 cancellation of Tony Blair's ID card program — both abandoned amid political transition and public resistance, not technical failure.