Speaking in the Commons today, May said: “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.”
It is the first time that May, an MP for 24 years, had rebelled against a three-line whip from the Conservative Party.
The former Brexit Secretary, David Davis said the cuts would “cost lives”, saying: “I consider myself an economic Thatcherite, and yet when I come to choose between money and lives, I always choose lives.
“Such a choice is morally reprehensible. Let’s be clear about it: morally reprehensible.”
Andrew Mitchell, a former international development secretary who led the Tory rebellion, told Sky News earlier today that the cuts would effectively end the UK’s spending target of 0.7% indefinitely.
“That has a huge effect on the number of avoidable deaths there will be around the world,” he said. “It has a massive impact on Britain’s international reputation and, frankly, it will have quite a strong impact on the Conservative Party, who will be seen to have broken their promise in this very important area.”
Ahead of the vote, the Universities and Colleges Union wrote to the Scottish government warning that “severe cuts threaten job losses” and called for it to “do what it can to encourage UK ministers to reverse their decisions”.
The letter, seen by openDemocracy, says that foreign aid cuts are already impacting university research projects.