UK Labour leader Keir Starmer backs restoring DFID

A Labour government in the United Kingdom would restore the Department for International Development, according to party leader Keir Starmer. Asked if he would be bringing DFID back should his party win the next election, due by January 2025, Starmer replied: “We are, for so many reasons. Not to see the importance of a department that is focused on fixing some of the global problems that actually unlock a lot of the promise etcetera is, I just think, totally misguided.” Starmer, who was director of public prosecutions prior to entering politics, “did a lot of work … in other countries on projects that were DFID-led,” he told the Rest Is Politics podcast on Wednesday. “Where we were dealing with problems of the rule of law in other countries, in order not only to ensure those countries thrived as democracies but also to ensure that we continued to thrive as a country,” he continued. Starmer added: “I think the wrongheadedness of not seeing that as a massive asset is huge.” “The abolition of [the Department for International Development] has … made UK aid less transparent and caused an exodus of world-leading expertise from [the] Government.” --— Kirsty McNeill, executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns, Save the Children UK DFID had developed a world renowned reputation since its creation — under a Labour government — in 1997. But under the Conservative government, DFID was closed in 2020, the position of secretary of state for international development ended, and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office took over development responsibilities. The move was widely seen as disruptive, prompted expert staff to leave, and was followed by the aid cuts policy, causing further damage to the U.K.’s development program as its budget was reduced from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income. While the Labour party maintained the post of shadow secretary for international development, held by Preet Kaur Gill, before Wednesday, its leadership had not committed to restoring DFID. “Labour created DFID, and under Keir Starmer Labour again will restore development expertise, [and] will look to the future at the challenges ahead,” Gill told Devex. “As Keir said, he is very very committed and he understands the impact and the work that DFID can do and has done as he did when he was head of public prosecutions.” Gill added: “We’ve all seen what the decision to ax the world renowned Department for International Development has had, not just on Britain’s reputation as a global leader in this field but in the lives of thousands of people … Worse still has been the lack of transparency, accountability and the account trickery that we have seen under this Conservative government since the merger, it has been costly and unfortunately hasn’t always given value to taxpayers money in the way that DFID did.” Starmer’s announcement was welcomed by major groups in the U.K. development sector, for which life has been much harder since DFID’s closure. “This is an important announcement from Labour that shows serious thinking about how the UK government can make the biggest difference in tackling global challenges and supporting the poorest and most vulnerable families,” said Kirsty McNeill, executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children UK. “An independent department for international development is not a silver bullet, but the abolition of DFID has reduced the Government’s focus on alleviating poverty, made UK aid less transparent and caused an exodus of world-leading expertise from [the] Government,” McNeill said. “Putting international development back at the Cabinet table means putting our role in building a healthier, safer and greener world back at the heart of Government.” “Departmental changes are costly and time-consuming, and if Labour were to win the next election, they should consider how to minimize this disruption while re-establishing DFID's world-renowned poverty focus, transparency and effectiveness," warned Ian Mitchell, co-director of development cooperation in Europe at the Center for Global Development.