The UK government’s decision to break its manifesto pledge by reducing the aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income raises a serious question: how can the UK deliver on the ambition of a Global Britain while disengaging from the world in such a profound way?
Over recent weeks, the government has started to communicate decisions as to where reductions are being made. The cuts are steep, involving both bilateral and multilateral aid for everything from humanitarian work to service delivery to the use of evidence in policymaking and global anti-corruption efforts.
The government has explained that these cuts in aid spending, which are intended to be temporary, are necessary because of the severe economic downturn the UK is experiencing as a result of COVID-19, and, presumably, Brexit. As different analysts have argued, however, the savings from aid are likely to have an almost insignificant effect on the UK’s overall fiscal situation, while for the world’s poorest the impact will be much greater.
