Andy Burnham to Become Prime Minister Monday, Scrap Digital ID Scheme and Keep Right-to-Work Checks

Andy Burnham will assume the role of prime minister on Monday and scrap the previous government's plan for a national digital ID scheme estimated at £2 billion. A spokesperson said the funds would instead address immediate public needs including the cost of living and that the government is determined to bring power back to communities rather than centralise it in Whitehall.

Burnham will also abandon reforms that would have limited the right to a jury trial, according to The Independent, and plans to restore Karl Turner, the Labour MP suspended for opposing those changes, to the parliamentary party. He will outline a timetable to return international aid spending to 0.7 per cent of GDP, The Independent reported.

Right-to-work checks remain mandatory for all employers. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will extend those checks for the first time to gig economy and zero-hours workers in construction, food delivery, beauty, courier and warehousing sectors. The previous government carried out nearly 13,000 enforcement visits and more than 9,000 arrests related to illegal working in 2025.

Right-to-work checks can already be carried out digitally. Digital documents are easier to forge than digital checks, the spokesperson said.