Britain halves its foreign-aid budget
Labour will have to choose which promises to break
Britain used to pride itself on being a star among those helping poorer parts of the world. In 2020 it was one of only seven countries that told the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, that it met the UN’s target of spending 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on aid. But its politicians keep reducing such aid. In 2021 the Conservatives controversially cut aid spending from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. Now Sir Keir Starmer has said that he is chopping it again in order to find extra cash for defence. The latest cut will be to the bone. Aid spending will be just 0.3% of GNI in 2027—not enough to cover everything diplomats have already promised to poor countries.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The last cut is the deepest”
Paying teenagers to go to school was a bad idea
At least in Britain
Anybody in Britain can call themselves a therapist
That opens the door to abuse
Britain’s capital markets are waging a war on paper
Calls are growing to modernise the country’s shareholding system
Does Britain’s nuclear deterrent have a Trump-shaped problem?
Higher defence spending is just the start of a painful reassessment
Running the Liberal Democrats is the easiest job in British politics
Brexit is bad! Not sure about that Elon Musk! Who likes Barbour jackets?