MP's broken promise on aid budget marks death knell for ‘Global Britain’ agenda and will leave marginalised communities facing hunger, malnutrition and disease, says Bond

Today, MPs have voted to approve the Treasury motion seeking to commit the government to spending 0.7% of GNI on aid only when the UK is no longer borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling.

Stephanie Draper, CEO of Bond, the UK network of organisations working in international development said:

“Today, MPs broke their promise to the electorate to address global challenges and turned their backs on those in need. It means that children can no longer go to school, vaccines are left to expire and marginalised communities are left to face hunger, malnutrition and disease. The aid budget is already linked to economic performance and therefore affordable. These additional measures are unnecessary and draconian. They are a death-knell for the government’s ‘Global Britain’ agenda and leadership in international development.

This was a political choice, not an economic one, which will do little other than hurt the world’s most marginalised women, men and children and damage Britain’s reputation in the world.”

ENDS

Notes to editor

On the 6th June 2021 over 1,700 academics, charities and business leaders signed a letter calling on the Prime Minister reverse cuts to aid programmes to avoid “casting a shadow” on the UK’s role as host of this year’s G7 Summit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57359119
The impact of the aid cuts on development and humanitarian aid programmes to date can be found here.
Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 400 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.
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