As Rishi Sunak’s chancellor Jeremy Hunt sets out his autumn statement to try to salvage the damage done to the UK’s economy by his predecessor, it’s worth remembering the global pain inflicted by Sunak himself when he was in Hunt’s job.
Almost exactly two years ago, Sunak stood in front of Parliament and announced a decision to tear up the government’s legally binding decision to spend 0.7% of the UK’s gross national income on official development assistance (ODA) – that is, international aid.
The decision made an estimated £4.6bn dent in international development and humanitarian work on education and health, affecting commitments to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund and other country-specific investments in Bangladesh and Syria – to name just a few.
