Politicians in the United Kingdom have voted against restoring the country’s 0.7% aid budget next year and instead passed a motion that economists say effectively ends the government’s commitment to the target.
Various NGOs described the decision as a “catastrophe,” “death sentence,” and “disaster” for vulnerable communities around the world, and politicians also lamented what they said was a great blow to the country’s international status.
Members of Parliament voted 333-298 to pass a surprise government motion — published just one day in advance — which specified an end to the commitment to spending 0.7% of gross national income on aid until certain fiscal conditions are met.
While presented by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as a compromise, economists told Devex that those economic conditions — detailed as when the government is “not borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling" — were so tough they effectively ruled out returning to 0.7% until 2024-25, by which time an election is due.
Andrew Mitchell, the former international development secretary who led the rebellion against the government, echoed that sentiment. "This is no compromise at all. It is a fiscal trap for the unwary,” he told fellow MPs.
"There is an unpleasant odor leaking from my party's front door," Mitchell said, highlighting the considerable and very public rift within the Conservative Party caused by the aid cuts. Former Prime Minister Theresa May was an influential figure among the rebel politicians and said she was voting against a three-line whip for the first time in her career.
The development sector is expected to continue campaigning for a faster return to the 0.7% target, with CARE International UK Chief Executive Laurie Lee citing its protection under law. But NGOs were universal in their condemnation of the vote’s outcome.
The government’s victory was a “death-knell” for U.K. leadership in international development and its “Global Britain agenda,” according to Stephanie Draper, CEO at U.K. NGO network Bond.
Government aid motion spells end of 0.7% target, experts say
As a crunch parliamentary vote on U.K. aid cuts approaches, development economists think the government has set a near-impossible economic condition.
"MPs broke their promise to the electorate to address global challenges and turned their backs on those in need,” she wrote. “It means that children can no longer go to school, vaccines are left to expire and marginalized communities are left to face hunger, malnutrition and disease.” Pointing out that the aid budget is already linked to economic performance, she called the additional restrictions “unnecessary and draconian.”
Jean-Michel Grand, executive director at Action Against Hunger UK, said that the vote’s result was “a death sentence for thousands of children'' and that a price could not be put on reputational damage for British diplomacy.
“The government can try and hide behind Excel spreadsheets,” he said, “but the fact remains that the U.K. has turned its back on the world’s poorest.”
“The outcome of today’s vote is a disaster for the world’s poorest people,” said Oxfam GB’s chief executive, Danny Sriskandarajah. He added that there was a “yawning gap between the rhetoric of ‘Global Britain’ and the reality of a government breaking its promises to the world’s poorest and further undermining the UK’s credibility on the international stage.”
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.
