Bond reacts to Reform UK proposals to cut the UK aid budget by 90 per cent to £1 billion
Today, Tuesday 18th November, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has declared that the Chancellor should slash the UK aid budget by 90% to £1 billion, to fill the hole in public finances.
Reform UK claims that this would be enough to meet the UK’s core UN obligations, support Ukraine, provide emergency relief and promote British interests abroad. However, if the UK reduces its contributions to multilateral organisations like the World Bank and IMF, it would be at risk of losing its voting share and influence in these spaces.
The Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget was reduced to 0.3% of GNI in February 2025, to fund an increase in defence spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027.
In reaction, Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond, the UK network of NGOs, said:
Slashing the UK aid budget by 90% would cause irreversible damage to the UK’s safety and national security in an increasingly unstable world, as well as to its global reputation as a reliable partner.
Cutting the already-diminished UK aid budget will not fill the hole in the UK’s public finances and only create new challenges. UK aid brings a huge return on investment: it helps to prevent conflict and build peace in fragile countries, fights the spread of diseases before they reach our shores, and leads to fewer people forced to flee their homes due to conflict and crisis. Slashing UK aid now would mean paying far more later down the line in security, health, and humanitarian costs.
Nigel Farage’s proposals do not align with the values of the British public, who are proud of their long-standing commitment to tackling global inequality, and want to see the UK play its part to support the world’s most marginalised communities.
Reform UK’s calls to gut the UK aid budget fail to see the bigger picture: that UK aid is an investment in a safer, healthier and more resilient world. Protecting the UK aid budget protects us all.
ENDS.
Notes for editors
- In his speech on 18th November, Reform UK Policy Chief Zia Yusuf said the UK sends ‘hundreds of millions’ of pounds in aid to Türkiye. In 2024, Türkiye received £13 million in bilateral country-specific UK ODA according to the Statistics in International Development: final UK ODA spend 2024, including to fund a Refugee Resilience and Inclusion programme. Türkiye hosts the second largest amount of refugees, according to UNHCR.
- 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 get in touch with Emily Loynes at [email protected] or 07909947850
