Labour plans to significantly cut the number of countries receiving United Kingdom aid if it takes power this year, to return spending to its “original purpose of eliminating global poverty.”
Lisa Nandy, who will be international development minister if her party wins this year’s election, highlighted a dramatic leap in the number of recipient countries — up from just 33 when Labour left office in 2010 to 88 under the Conservative government.
Speaking at a London think tank event, Nandy said rising indebtedness and the need to mitigate the threat from climate change meant aid money had been “diverted to middle-income countries simply to help them stand still.”