All change at No 10: what we need to see from our next prime minister

Keir Starmer’s Labour government came into office on the back of a manifesto which gave hope to Bond’s 340 member organisations, and the millions of people who support and work with them, that the UK’s retreat from global development cooperation and norms would end.

Sadly, this promise has not been delivered as this withdrawal has deepened over the last two years.

The next Labour leader and UK prime minister has an opportunity to put this right and to deliver on a manifesto that promised so much for the UK’s international cooperation ambitions.

Damaging decisions

The 2024 election followed a series of retreats in the UK’s global role under Conservative governments. The Department for International Development was abolished in 2020. The Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget was slashed from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) in 2021, and  ODA was diverted towards spending on refugees in the UK (peaking at £3.7bn in 2022). UK prime ministers regularly dodged key global summits. Climate finance commitments were watered down. The UK failed to uphold international humanitarian law in responding to the devastating conflict in Gaza.

Labour’s 2024 manifesto commitments seemed to recognise the damage caused by these decisions and suggested that these missteps would be put right. There was a commitment to “rebuild Britain’s reputation on international development”. To seize and repurpose frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. To tackle unsustainable debt, corruption and money laundering. To return to the “forefront” of climate action. To promote “long-term peace and security in the Middle East” and “once again be…a defender of the international rule of law”.

These commitments were squarely in line with the Labour Party’s historical commitments to internationalism and solidarity. However, one by one, these commitments have been shredded.

Keir Starmer’s Labour government cut the ODA budget further, to just 0.3% of GNI by 2027, to pay for an uplift in defence spending. It failed to secure the release of more than £2bn in proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC for Ukraine’s reconstruction. It tolerated unacceptable delays in British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories publishing company ownership records, which is vital for tackling tax dodging. It watered down its climate finance commitments further. And it failed to make serious diplomatic efforts to resolve conflict in Gaza, Sudan and Yemen and continued to sell arms being used in Gaza to Israel. The list goes on.

The next prime minister has a critical opportunity to begin to put this right when the UK hosts the G20 next year. This will create a space to rebuild relationships with global majority countries and show them that the UK is a reliable partner on the world stage. The next government should heed these countries’ calls for creating a fairer global financial system by tackling unjust debt, championing fairer tax and trade rules, addressing illicit financial flows and improving the efficiency of multilateral development banks.

Making the public case for development cooperation

Another area where the outgoing government fell short, which the incoming government must address, is making a clear and compelling case to the British public about the UK’s role in the world and supporting other countries is the right thing to do.

Keir Starmer set up a false economy when he dangerously pitted defence against development, failing to make the case to the UK public that you need both to ensure our safety and security, both here in the UK and across the world. Development cooperation supports many types of activities that are vital to security, including funding peacekeeping operations, weapons decommissioning and demining, supporting pandemic and disease prevention programmes and preventing the risk of famine in countries experiencing conflict.

The outgoing government also failed to make clear that protecting and strengthening certain global laws ultimately helps to promote a culture that protects and strengthens the safety, rights and freedoms we enjoy in the UK. Such international laws include those on conflict, human rights, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access and the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.

Commitments on global cooperation that will put the UK back on track

Keir Starmer’s government failed to deliver on its manifesto commitments on global cooperation due to a lack of leadership, vision and political will. The next prime minister and the government they lead must learn these lessons in order to deliver on Labour’s manifesto commitments on global cooperation. In the immediate period after they take office, we urge the new prime minister  to begin on the right foot by pursuing the following commitments and actions:

• Rule out further reductions to the UK ODA budget, and ensure this spending is better focussed on global poverty reduction and humanitarian assistance.
• Reaffirm the Labour manifesto commitment to increase UK ODA (towards 0.7% of GNI) when fiscal conditions allow, and ensure that the fiscal tests for such ODA increases are consistent with the government’s existing/evolving fiscal rules.
• Develop and pursue an ambitious vision for the UK’s leadership of the G20 in 2027 which supports countries to mobilise and retain more of their own finances, including through tackling unsustainable debt, reforming unfair global tax and trade rules, stopping illicit financial flows and generating more and better finance from multilateral development banks.
• Fundamentally shift the UK’s diplomatic efforts towards ending – and holding accountable those responsible for – the devastating conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere (including perpetrators of atrocities and war crimes). Halt arms transfers and military assistance to Israel, the UAE and other parties to these conflicts, and adequately fund and secure access for humanitarian assistance in crisis contexts.

Whoever enters Number 10 will decide what the UK’s role in the world will look like; whether we will be a reliable force for good or continue to let down those who need our support the most. 

The next prime minister must recognise that the UK’s domestic priorities are inseparable from global realities and take decisive steps to rebuild trust, both with the UK public and international partners.