Conservative Party
The Conservative Party committed to the target of 0.7% of national income for development by 2013 in their 2005 manifesto, and the Conservatives' development Green Paper, One World Conservatism, further echoes support for this target.
The Conservatives have historically emphasised trade liberalisation, private sector initiatives and an efficient but scaled-down state. The Green Paper published in July follows this trend and expands on current key Conservative policy themes, including:
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Value for money: pushing a results-based approach to aid, withholding certain funds until successful completion of projects (cash-on-delivery). Also central is an overarching concern with aid effectiveness
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Public support for development: introducing choice into development programmes by giving people in developing countries a means of selecting service providers, as well as improving domestic support for development initiatives by giving UK taxpayers a say in project funding (under the proposed MyAid initiative)
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Conflict and fragile states: a focus on conflict and fragile states as a key arena for development with an enhanced role for the Stabilisation Unit and coordination across government
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Wealth creation: making targeted investments in infrastructure and agriculture to improve long-term growth prospects, as well as creating the environment for private sector initiatives to prosper
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Multilateral institutions: guiding funding to multilateral programmes that are proven to be effective at impacting poverty and cutting funding for less effective programmes
Although the Green Paper has cooled worries that the Conservatives may not be committed to an independent Department for International Development (DFID), concerns remain that many Conservative MPs and candidates don't wholly support David Cameron's pledge to ring-fence development spending from future budget cuts. Also, the Conservatives' current policy focuses don't really include climate change as a development issue while social protection, gender and human rights receive limited attention as well.
