UK Drops Plan for Mandatory Digital ID Cards — Again

The UK's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed on July 21, 2026, that the country is cancelling its plan to require digital ID cards — a system people would have needed to prove who they are online. The plan, announced by Keir Starmer in September 2025, faced a petition signed by nearly three million people. A similar plan was dropped in 2011 under Tony Blair.