The United Kingdom’s development program has been thrown into further uncertainty following the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss after just 44 days in office, telling reporters she could no longer “deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative party.”
No immediate changes to an existing aid budget freeze or wider development policy are expected, but Truss’ successor — to be chosen from the Conservative Party without an election by Oct. 28 — will have to grapple with gravely stretched public finances and a febrile political atmosphere that shows no sign of abating.
“The existing position stands until someone changes it — which could be chancellor in the budget or new PM,” said Sarah Champion, chair of the International Development Committee of politicians who scrutinize the aid budget. A budget is due on Oct. 31 and the aid freeze has been extended until then, but both are subject to change amid the political uncertainty.
Asked what Truss’ resignation might mean for U.K. aid and his former department, Moazzam Malik, a former senior official at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office replied: “Honestly nothing. I can't see a scenario in which whoever emerges has the appetite to turnaround the finances at FCDO.”
“The damage is so deep that fixing it requires stable finances and clarity of purpose over a long period of time,” he added.
Champion, a member of the opposition Labour Party, told Devex via WhatsApp: "We are seeing famine, genocide, war and humanitarian crises. I want the U.K. to be showing global leadership on all these issues, instead, the Conservative party can’t even lead itself, let alone our country."
The Labour Party is now calling for a general election:
“Our standing and global reputation in tatters. Our world renowned institutions dismantled all because of ideologues in the government,” Preet Gill, shadow international development secretary, wrote to Devex. “Britain deserves a fresh start. Labour under Keir [Starmer] will return Britain to the world stage as a trusted partner. We need a general election — now.”
A general election must be held by January 2025, but given the fragile politics of the U.K. — the next prime minister will be the third in four months and lack a public mandate — there could be one well before then. In polls, Labour have been far ahead of the Conservatives, and would be expected to win a large majority.
The Conservative Party is expected to have chosen a new leader in a week, but the process will likely be fraught. The new prime minister could appoint a new foreign secretary, replacing the current postholder James Cleverly, or international development minister, currently Vicky Ford, — or abolish the latter position altogether. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s guiding aid document, the international development strategy, is strongly associated with Truss, having been rewritten and published while she served as foreign secretary.
The strategy talked about patient long-term development, said Ranil Dissanayake, policy fellow at the Center for Global Development. He continued: “And the government can’t seem to go 48 hours without some significant change. How on earth are they meant to achieve it, and how are we meant to take it seriously?”
Whoever enters the government, the development program will remain under significant pressure. On Tuesday, parliamentarians expressed concern about rumors the aid budget could drop to 0.3% of national income, from its current reduced rate of 0.5%, which is already proving too little to properly fund programs. The U.K.’s pledge to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — a key signal of its international position — has not yet been announced. The Fund needs pledges by the end of October to plan its work.
“It’s vital the U.K. makes a pledge; it’s vital for the Global Fund to know how much money they are going to have for the next era,” said Romilly Greenhill, U.K. director at the ONE campaign, who added that if the Global Fund’s work doesn’t carry on, it will undermine the progress already made against disease.
She said it would be “really shocking” if the government did not make a pledge and signal a “complete repudiation” of the historical role the U.K. had in setting up the Global Fund and
“really put in question any sort of commitment to an effective multilateral system to tackle health threats.”
About the author
William Worley@willrworley
Will Worley is the Climate Correspondent for Devex, covering the intersection of development and climate change. He previously worked as UK Correspondent, reporting on the FCDO and British aid policy during a time of seismic reforms. Will’s extensive reporting on the UK aid cuts saw him shortlisted for ‘Specialist Journalist of the Year’ in 2021 by the British Journalism Awards. He can be reached at william.worley@devex.com.
