UK eID scheme will be scrapped, Tories warn

18 June 2009

The British Conservative party, the main opposition to the governing Labour Party, has written to the main IT vendors involved in developing the UK electronic identity card telling them that the eID scheme will be scrapped, should the Conservatives form the next British government, writes Stephen Gardner. Under UK law, the next general election must take place no later than June 3, 2010, with the Conservatives currently having a 12-point lead over Labour, according to polls conducted in mid-June. According to IT website silicon.com, the Conservatives have affirmed that abandoning the UK National Identity Scheme is "firm policy." Conservatives have said that any ID scheme contracts with IT vendors will be discontinued, should the Labour Party be voted out of office. The British government began a limited roll-out of eID cards in late 2008, issuing them to foreign nationals living in the UK. However, according to the government, only around 10 percent of foreign nationals will have eID cards by the end of 2010. More Digital State articles.

 

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