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‘Worse than a crime’: Johnson cutting aid to ‘pander’ to Red Wall, says Tory MP

Decision to slash aid to poorest countries made for ‘cultural reasons’ not economic ones, says former international development secretary

By Adam Bychawski
‘Worse than a crime’: Johnson cutting aid to ‘pander’ to Red Wall, says Tory MP
Johnson said aid is treated as a “giant cashpoint in the sky” last year. | REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo.
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The British government is cutting billions from the foreign aid budget in order to court former Labour voters who backed the Conservatives in the last election, according to a senior Tory MP.

Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell said the government believed reducing foreign aid would “go down well” with voters in the so-called ‘Red Wall’ seats in the north of England.

“It’s worse than a crime. It’s a mistake. And the reason it’s a mistake is because it's clearly not being done for economic reasons,” Mitchell told an openDemocracy live discussion on 26 March.

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