Foreign aid advocates in the United Kingdom breathed a sigh of relief as an overwhelming majority of lawmakers under the House of Commons agreed Friday to enshrine into law the U.K. government’s foreign aid spending commitment.
With 146 votes in favor and only 6 against, members of the parliament supported a proposal that aims to keep U.K. aid spending at a minimum of 0.7 percent of gross national income no matter the economic tide or changes in leadership in years to come, unless a future government decides to take on the long and arduous process of repealing the proposed law.
NGOs hope that the bill will move fast and receive the same support at the House of Lords, where it will undergo scrutiny next, before the U.K. general elections in May 2015.