Last week, MPs not only voted to approve the government’s £4 billion cut to the aid budget, but also agreed to a new rule which might not see the...

Is this email not displaying correctly? View in your browser ([link removed])
Hi John,
Last week, MPs not only voted to approve the government’s £4 billion cut to the aid budget, but also agreed to a new rule which might not see the budget restored for decades.

By a majority of 35, MPs supported the government’s plans to tie UK aid spending to the national budget, meaning that spending will only be reinstated to 0.7% of national income in the case of a national budget surplus (which has happened only once in twenty years).

These cuts are a political choice, not an economic necessity. The impact will make almost no difference to the UK’s public finances, but could lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths and families pushed into poverty in the global south.

The cuts reflect the government’s ideological, two-pronged attack on aid: cutting the budget and diverting much of what’s left to corporate projects designed to promote British interests. Join us in resisting both.
Sign the petition ([link removed])


** The response
------------------------------------------------------------
The civil society response was, rightly, one of outrage and was covered widely across the media. Our comments were picked up by the BBC, Independent and the Guardian front page.

“When the inevitable death and suffering from aid cuts hits the news, each and every MP who has voted to sever the UK’s 0.7% commitment should know that blood is on their hands,” we said.
“The kind of chicanery this government has used to dodge its international responsibilities lays bare the myth that these cuts are needed to balance public spending during the pandemic. 0.7% was already proportional. This bill only commits the government to deeper cuts.”

A total of 25 Conservative MPs voted against the government – not as many as had been hoped but it still made it one of the biggest rebellions of this parliament.

See how your MP voted here >>>>>> ([link removed])

Our director Nick Dearden also tweeted about the history of the 0.7% campaign ([link removed]) and why progressive movements must also try to redefine the purposes of aid at the same time as trying to get the budget reinstated.

[link removed]


** Where next?
------------------------------------------------------------
The vote means that any parliamentary route to reinstating the aid budget to 0.7% of national income seems highly unlikely for the time being.

However, there are other ways to challenge the government’s scandalous approach. The International Planned Parenthood Federation, for example, is taking the government to court ([link removed]) over the cuts made to its budget over the next three years.

But beyond challenging the cuts themselves, we also need to challenge the way that the government has redirected too much aid spending towards for-profit schools, unaffordable private hospitals, and projects focused more on increasing UK trade than alleviating poverty.

What’s left of the aid budget will be raided by the government for projects that protect British political and commercial interests, turning their backs on rather than supporting the world’s most marginalised communities. So our campaign continues. We’ll be publishing more research and hosting webinars later this year on how we can build support for the alternative, and I hope I can continue to count on your support.

Thank you for everything you have done so far.

In solidarity,
Daniel Willis
Global finance campaigner, Global Justice Now

Notes

[1] Outrage aimed at No 10 as MPs back £4bn cut to foreign aid budget, Guardian - [link removed]

[2] Don’t just defend aid, make it just, New Internationalist - [link removed]

[3] Making development a business, Tribune - [link removed]
**
Can you help stop the corporate hijack of the aid budget?
------------------------------------------------------------
Aid should be spent tackling poverty and inequality – instead it's supporting big business and lining private pockets.
Regular gifts give us the long-term stability to plan effective campaigns, exposing those who seek to profit from the UK’s aid budget or pushing back against development funds being used to privatise public services in the global south.

If you’re not already a member, will you join today?

Join today ([link removed])
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

This email was sent to you by Global Justice Now because you most probably signed up on our website, took a campaign action or attended one of our events. If you no longer want to receive our emails you can
update your preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

Our mailing address is:
Global Justice Now
66 Offley Road, London SW9 0LS
Phone: 020 7820 4900
============================================================