Incoming UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed that the UK government is scrapping a controversial digital ID card system announced last year by the country’s previous leader.

The Burnham administration said savings from the discarded ID card program will fund a tax cut aimed at reducing household electricity bills amid rising cost of living. Newly appointed Finance Minister John Healy said the changes aim to give “breathing room to bills and provide some peace of mind this winter”.

The plan to roll out digital ID cards was put forward by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who argued that state-issued IDs would crack down on immigrants working illegally and modernize access to government services. The national ID card system would have cost the government £1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) over three years, but that figure was disputed as money was allegedly never allocated to fund the plan.

Starmer announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister on 22 June. Burnham formally replaced him on Monday.

Millions of Britons had opposed the plan for mandatory digital ID cards, racking up the second largest public parliamentary petition ever recorded, amassing nearly 3 million signatures rejecting the plan. Critics said the introduction of ID cards would allow surveillance.

The effort brought back memories of a similar government program to roll out identity cards during the 2000s under Tony Blair’s government, but it was canceled in 2011, shortly after a new opposition-led coalition government took power following a national election.