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Sky News 18 Jul 2026 40 here now

Burnham scraps Starmer digital ID scheme in first major policy pledge

In one of his first acts as prime minister, Andy Burnham will scrap Sir Keir Starmer's flagship digital ID programme when he takes office on Monday.

It is understood that other parts of the governmen

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How much better off would the UK be if someone had decided to scrap the plan for HS2.
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Call me a cynic, but something is off here.. 🧐🧐
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But ID for social media in place ? 😂
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They're just pivoting the method of introducing compulsory digital ID...oh...digital driving licence...plus other pivots.
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@dawido7715 From YouTube ↗ 19 Jul 2026 16
If anyone believes the headline then they are dumber than they look
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@edbop From YouTube ↗ 19 Jul 2026 47
So essentially the same architecture under a different name. They still want access to your phone. In which case I'll just switch back to my old dumb phone.
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It seems too good to be true! Something is off...
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@zeeyka99 From YouTube ↗ 19 Jul 2026 99
This seems really good in theory, and i guess i should be pleased, but honestly? I just dont trust the government at all anymore...
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Great, now what about mandatory Age Verification, which is effectively Digital ID by the backdoor. (Before anyone says it's just uploading a photo, it's not. It creates joinder between your paper proof of ID and what can potentially be a unique identifier stored digitally online and can be expanded in the future once in place (ie. Digital ID)
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What a complete waste of money. Get rid of Palantir first. The PT Burnham - Its all a sideshow theatre
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@tg92277 From YouTube ↗ 19 Jul 2026 14
"A bit" of a backlash 😂
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Tony Blair is not going to be happy scrapping the digital id
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@Mikba From YouTube ↗ 19 Jul 2026 47
Online Safety Act is estimated to cost the UK £2.5 billion pounds and should also be scrapped.
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@jackg.1759 From YouTube ↗ 19 Jul 2026 56
Good for your UK. Toss that ID junk into your history.
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Already here it's called the online harms bill
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Smoke Screen anyone 🤔
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Lets hope he does because its badly flawed and why should an American firm hold our data on their databases
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Good. Now can we get rid of the social media ban and online safety act?
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Tony Blair will be waking a sleeper-cell. Ain't no way digital ID is getting buried this easy.
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@Nyk_ From YouTube ↗ 19 Jul 2026 148
Now do the same thing with Age Verification.
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Farid H 19 Jul 2026
You've hit on the main tension, Brendan. Looking at how these systems have played out across Europe and Asia, the efficiency gains rarely outweigh the long-term privacy risks.
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Brendan O' 18 Jul 2026
Quite a bold move for a first act! I can see why people would be wary of a digital ID system, but I wonder if we'll miss out on some of the efficiency it might have brought. Do you think this is the right call, or just playing it safe?
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night_owl_92 18 Jul 2026
about time. definitely didn't want some digital id tracking everything i do. glad burnham is actually cutting this before it starts.
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GazFromLeeds 18 Jul 2026
About time, Deborah. One less way for them to keep tabs on us.
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Sofia from Daily Junction Host 18 Jul 2026
Right there with you, Deborah! Definitely feels like a relief.