Hi John,
An important upcoming vote in the House of Commons could have a big impact on the future of UK aid and what Boris Johnson's government spends it on. We need your help to ensure that MPs back plans to maintain strong parliamentary scrutiny of UK aid spending so that it continues to tackle global poverty.
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“This is exactly the moment when we must mobilise every one of our national assets, including our aid budget and expertise, to safeguard British interests and values overseas.”
This is how Boris Johnson described his vision for the future of UK aid when he abolished the Department for International Development (DfID) in June. Unfortunately, what this means in practice is more development funds being redirected towards the private sector, funding unaffordable private hospitals, dirty fossil fuel projects and luxury corporate hotels. UK aid is increasingly being spent to support private profit, and is not going to where it is needed most.
You will have heard from me before about our campaign against this corporate hijack of UK aid. The abolition of DfID has accelerated this further as the government tries to increase the economic power of “Global Britain” over the global south - a project known to some civil servants as “Empire 2.0”.
Now, parliament’s crucial International Development Committee, which conducts important inquiries into UK aid spending, could be abolished too. Up until now, we have been able to fight back and work with MPs to expose the worst examples of aid misuse in parliament. But without a committee of dedicated MPs with the power to summon ministers to testify, this could become much harder.
At a key upcoming vote, potentially as soon as this week, there will be a chance for MPs to vote in favour of a new dedicated aid committee to continue scrutinising aid spending decisions across all areas of parliament.
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This year, we have continued to hold the government to account for some of the damaging investments it has made via the UK development bank, its use of aid to fund dirty fossil fuel projects, and its attempts to rebuild the UK’s neocolonial power in the global south.
But these campaigns need two things to have impact: your support, and voices in parliament willing to speak out against the government. Please take action today to ensure that we are able to keep up this pressure on government in future.
Warm regards,
Daniel Willis
Global finance campaigner at Global Justice Now
Read more:
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