Political parties on international development
With the UK General Election due to take place by June 2010, political parties are moving into election mode.
Recently published documents such as the DFID White Paper and the Conservative Green Paper on International Development are early signs of where party thinking is on international development.
In our International Development Manifesto, Bond members ask the UK Government of 2010 to play a leading and progressive role as a member state of the EU and on the global stage. To achieve this, UK NGOs must now push for international development to be a key election issue for all UK political parties.
Bond as outlined the three main UK political parties' perspectives on international development:
Also: Read more about the recent Party Conferences
The will for change
The main parties in the UK realise that international development cannot be ignored in the run-up to the General Election. Across the board there is support for the target of dedicating 0.7% of national income to development spending. Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative Shadow International Development Secretary, recently acknowledged that the development agenda is a "British agenda that commands widespread support".
However, parties' views do differ widely on how funds should be provided to developing countries, what changes need to be made to the international system to support development, and what methods should be used to improve aid effectiveness.
There have been marked changes in parties' perspectives on development since the 2005 General Election. Also, due to NGO pressure such as Make Poverty History, there has been a growth in the number of MPs actually engaged in development-related issues, be that HIV/Aids, climate change, agriculture, security or international trade. MPs across the political spectrum are members of relevant Select Committees or All Party Parliamentary Groups, which together play a big role in monitoring and shaping development policy.
How to get engaged
The General Election will be hotly contested so it is important that Bond members use this opportunity (when politicians are listening closely to their constituents) to lobby MPs and candidates.
Bond is coordinating a joint sector wide election campaign, which will include joint campaigning work (starting with The Great Persuasion) and policy lobbying. An International Development Manifesto has been presented to parties at the Party Conferences framing the basis of our policy demands towards political parties.
Bond members' engagement
Bond members organised a series of development events at each of the major political party conferences this autumn including joint fringe events. At these joint events, the International Development Manifesto of the sector was presented and the development spokesperson from each party was invited to outline their party's agenda for development alongside other interesting speakers.
The spokespeople of each political party will also be speaking at the Bond Annual Conference in a political ‘Question Time' style panel where Bond members are invited to ask them questions on their agenda for international development.
To find out more and to get involved, get in touch with the Bond Advocacy team: advocacy@bond.org.uk.
