Aid organisations have expressed horror at the UK government’s decision to slash spending on overseas development in order to fund an increase in the defence budget.
On 25 February UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced that defence spending would increase to 2.5% of gross national income (GNI) by 2027, compared with 2.3% currently. To pay for this, spending on overseas aid will drop from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3%—a cut of about £6bn. In 2023 the UK aid budget stood at £15.3bn.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Starmer said he was not happy to be making the announcement “but the realities of our dangerous new era mean that the defence and national security of our country must come first.”
He added, “I am proud of Britain’s pioneering …
