UK Prime Minister refuses to rule out further cuts to UK aid budget – Bond reaction
Today following the Prime Minister’s unveiling of the government’s defence spending plans, in a press conference, he refused to rule out further cuts to the UK aid budget to fund an uplift in defence spending.
In reaction, Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond, the UK network for organisations working in international development and humanitarian assistance, said:
It is disappointing that the Prime Minister has failed to rule out further cuts to the UK aid budget to fund defence spending. Defence, diplomacy and development are not competing priorities, they are part of the same triangle. Slashing the development budget while boosting defence breaks this balance and puts long-term global security at risk. You don’t strengthen our national security by weakening the very tools that prevent global conflict, fight poverty, tackle hunger, and protect us against future pandemics. The government must urgently publish an impact assessment explaining their decisions for the cuts.
ENDS.
Notes for editors
- Read Bond’s reaction to the government’s announcement in February that UK aid budget cut to fund defence increase.
- Read Bond’s blog on the four ways the government can manage the planned UK aid cuts to limit their damage.
- In April, over 100 NGOs and refugee charities called on the government to end the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers as soon as possible.
- Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.
- For further information or interviews, please contact Jess Salter at [email protected] or call 07392972411.
