Stealing from the Poorest to Feed the Richest

What do John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May have in common? All five former Prime Ministers have condemned Boris Johnson’s decision to cut the UKs foreign aid spending, reduced from 0.7% of national income, to 0.5%.

That’s a reduction of around £4.5 billion a year. It may sound a lot and a reasonable saving to make but against a Covid home spend of around £210 billion and counting, not so much.

But in terms of the effect internationally, it’s devastating.

Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell (part of Johnson’s Conservative party) estimates the result of the reduced aid will mean nearly a million girls will be deprived of education. It will mean a lack of access to contraception for 7 million people and it will mean 5.6 million children will not get the vaccinations they need. A further 3.8 million people could lose access to clean water. Most tellingly it will mean up to 100,000 deaths as a result.

Under the cover of saving in the time of a pandemic, Johnson is playing politics. His hard talking, non-caring right wing in his party were getting rebellious. So he decided they were more important than the lives of children in poorest countries. He ignored the pleas of the former Prime Ministers and former development secretaries.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called the decision ‘shameful and wrong.’ The CEO of Tearfund says ‘People living in poverty are already pushed to the brink of survival every day. This decision by the UK government is a harsh, badly calculated decision and could not have come at a worse time.’

Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron says ‘The Government wants to make clear that we are looking after our own. But in doing so it sends a message that Britain is becoming insular, heartless and irrelevant. And it forgets two other vital principles from our Christian heritage. That of grace: a gift of something perhaps undeserved but freely given. And that of service: looking after those less fortunate than ourselves.’

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown says ‘The UK’s path-breaking commitment to ending world poverty yields far-reaching benefits and its aid programme is one of its most valuable global assets.’

For ‘is’, read ‘was’.

Shame on you Mr Johnson. You have stolen from the neediest to fill the political trough of the rich and greedy.