Time for a rally in global debt reform

In the debate on international development, there is one uncomfortable truth we can no longer ignore: Debt is quietly undoing decades of progress. Right now, at least 1 in 3 developing countries are spending more on interest payments than on health care or education. That means children missing out on school, hospitals without medicines, and communities unable to recover from climate disasters. Debt is not a sidenote in the development debate, it is the fault line upon which progress now stands or falls. And because around 90% of this debt is governed by English law, the United Kingdom is uniquely placed to help fix it by enacting new regulations. Before entering the U.K.Parliament, I worked as a development banker. I have seen both the promise and the peril of international lending. I know that private finance, when responsibly structured, can be transformative. But I have also seen how unregulated, unaccountable lending can trap countries in a cycle of poverty and instability. That is why I have been calling for legislation to compel private creditors to participate fairly in restructurings, just as public lenders already do. Securing this legislation will require real political momentum and public pressure to drive it into law. That is why, next month, I will be bringing together leading NGOs — Debt Justice, Save the Children, Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, ActionAid, CARE, Bond, Christian Aid, and UNICEF — for a roundtable in Parliament. Our aim is simple: to forge a unified message on global debt reform that can cut through to the British public, speak with authority to Parliament, and resonate internationally. Campaigning on debt reform has no shortage of energy or expertise. What it needs now is alignment, because when we fragment, we weaken the very cause we are all trying to advance. When banks and asset managers are united in protecting their interests, those who fight for debt justice must be equally coordinated. And let us be clear: This is not about undermining London’s financial center, but about ensuring the financial system operates on a fair and sustainable footing — one that delivers stability for investors as well as justice for low- and middle-income countries. We have been here before: Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s reforms after the 2008 financial crisis strengthened the system without choking off lending, and the same is true now. Fair rules level the playing field, restore confidence, and ensure that capital markets serve long-term growth rather than short-term gain. The truth is, the public is not indifferent. They have not lost compassion, but they have lost trust in how aid is delivered. If we want to rebuild that trust, we need to show that aid is not about waste or dependency — it is about fairness. It is about ensuring countries are not forced to spend more on paying hedge funds than on feeding their children. Think back to Jubilee 2000, when campaigners, churches, trade unions, celebrities, and parliamentarians came together around one clear demand: Cancel the debt. That common voice shifted governments and changed lives: The campaign helped secure the cancellation of over $100 billion of debt through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, or HIPC, initiative, and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, or MDRI, which in turn allowed countries such as Uganda to abolish primary school fees, sending millions of children to school for the first time. Today, we need the same clarity of purpose. My message to NGOs is this: We don’t need another Live Aid. But we do need to rally around a campaign that unites the public, civil society, and policymakers in demanding a level playing field for low-income countries. The stakes are too high for us to allow fragmentation to blunt our impact. This is not charity; it is common sense. We cannot expect countries to invest in education, health, and climate resilience while a broken debt system diverts scarce resources to unaccountable creditors. The U.K. has the legal tools, the moral responsibility, and the political momentum to lead. But for that to happen, campaigners must pull in the same direction. Global debt reform will define whether the next decade is one of progress or paralysis for the world’s poorest countries. Britain has both the legal power and the moral duty to lead. But leadership demands unity. That is why I am calling on NGOs to join forces, align their messaging, and speak as one — because only together can we unlock development and deliver real debt justice.