Former prime minister Theresa May has said she will vote against Boris Johnson’s £4bn cuts to international aid plans today, accusing the government of “turning its back on some of the poorest people in the world”.
Ms May was speaking ahead of a crucial House of Commons vote this afternoon, which Tory rebels have warned will end forever the UK’s pledge to meet the United Nations target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on aid.
Mr Johnson told MPs that plans set out by the Treasury would “provide certainty for our aid budget and an affordable path back to 0.7 per cent, while also allowing investment in other priorities, including the NHS, schools and the police”.
But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer warned that conditions set by chancellor Rishi Sunak meant that the cut to 0.5 per cent of gross national income (GNI) will remain in place “indefinitely”.
Speaking in the Commons, Ms May said that Mr Johnson’s manifesto on which she stood in the 2019 general election committed the Conservatives to “proudly maintain” the pledge to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) on aid.
“I have been in this House for nearly a quarter of a century,” said Ms May. “During that time I have never voted against a three-line whip from my party.
“As prime minister I suffered at the hands of rebels, I know what it is like to see party colleagues voting against their government.”
But she added: “We made a promise to the poorest people in the world. The government has broken that promise. This motion means that promise may be broken for years to come.
“With deep regret, I will vote against the motion today.”
Today’s debate was called after a surprise U-turn on Monday by Mr Sunak, who put forward a plan for the 0.7 per cent spending to be restored once the economy recovers. He warned that if MPs – including up to 50 Tory rebels – reject the plan, cash will have to be raised from taxes or cuts to domestic priorities in order to restore aid spending levels next year.
But critics led by former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell branded Mr Sunak’s plan a “fiscal trap”, warning that the chancellor’s tests – no unsustainable borrowing for day-to-day spending and falling underlying debt – will not be passed before the next election, scheduled for 2024.
With few expecting Mr Johnson to repeat his commitment to meet the UN target in his next manifesto, Tory rebels fear that the 0.7 per cent target will never be met again.
Mr Johnson insisted that the cut to 0.5 per cent was temporary and said that the UK could be “proud” that it will still spend at least £10 billion in aid this year.
But he said the UK’s public finances are under a “greater strain than ever before in peacetime history” as a result of the Covid pandemic, adding: “Every pound we spend on aid has to be borrowed and, in fact, represents not our money but money that we’re taking from future generations.”
Sir Keir said the PM was being “slippery” and noted that every living prime minister except for Mr Johnson is against the cuts.
“Cutting aid will increase costs and have a big impact on our economy,” said the Labour leader. “Development aid reduces conflict, it reduces disease and people fleeing from their homes. It is a false economy to pretend that this is some sort of cut that doesn’t have consequences.
“This cut will also reduce UK influence just when it is needed most, and of course it risks leaving a vacuum which other countries – for example China and Russia – will fill.”
Mr Mitchell warned rebels tempted to vote with the government that the chancellor’s package was “no compromise at all”, as the conditions he set had only been met once in the past 20 years and may never be met again.
“We should not be breaking our promise,” he said. “We should certainly not be seeking to balance the books on the backs of the poorest people in the world.”
Referring to the Tories’ recent Chesham and Amersham by-election loss, he added: “Anyone who thinks this is not affecting our party’s reputation is living in cloud-cuckoo land. There is an unpleasant odour wafting out from under my party’s front door. This is not who we are. This is not what global Britain is.”
Former Tory minister David Davis described the conditions for returning to the 0.7 per cent aid spending as “deceptive”. Labour MP Sarah Champion – chair of the International Development Committee – said the promise of a series of tests to restore the 0.7 per cent level was a “breathtakingly cynical manoeuvre”.
Former Tory minister Stephen Crabb said he “won’t be able to support” the government’s motion.
He told MPs he recognised there are “enormous pressures” on public finances, but added: “What is a difficult moment for us fiscally and politically, it’s an absolute tragic, devastating moment for the poorest people around the world for whom the pandemic has been the cause of another wave of dire poverty.”
