Cutting aid to the world’s poor is not a good legacy for Starmer - Susan Dalgety
In one of its last acts, the outgoing Starmer government displayed a heartlessness unrivalled in recent decades.
With a keystroke, the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper slashed overseas development assistance (ODA) to Malawi by 90 per cent, reducing support to one of the world’s poorest countries from £50 million this year to £5 million in 2028.
Why? The Foreign & Commonwealth & Development Office say it is to fund “a necessary increase in defence spending”, which up at a point is acceptable. The world is a pretty scary place right now and the defence of our country must be a priority.
But why has Malawi been unfairly singled out for such a swingeing cut? UK aid for Africa has been reduced by 52 per cent over the next three years, yet Malawi’s cut is 90 per cent.
The government argues that it “remains a long-term friend and trusted partner” of Malawi, and points out it will help the country to access “larger pools” of international finance. But warm words butter no neeps.
The people of Malawi face daily challenges that most of us would find impossible. The overwhelming majority of the 23 million population live in extreme poverty, struggling to grow food on land degraded by climate change.
The Iran war has affected Malawi more than most, with essential items such as fertiliser and fuel now so expensive that only the well-off or ex-pats can afford them.
We currently support a range of programmes in Malawi, from women’s reproductive health to keeping girls in school, as well as helping the country cope with severe storm damage caused by climate change. Most of that will now end.
As Stuart Brown, CEO of the Scotland Malawi Partnership said when the news was announced, “more people will go hungry, the most basic healthcare provision will be diminished…lives will be lost.”
This is the bottom line. The scale of these cuts to a country we have long supported, and indeed once exploited, will mean that lives will be put at risk.
Even the top military brass agree. The former head of the British Army, General Lord Dannett Richard said recently: “Cutting aid to fund it [Britian’s military capabilities] is a fundamental strategic error that risks making us weaker not stronger”.
Today, a new Labour Prime Minister took up residence at No.10. Andy Burnham has had a remarkable rise to power. Only a few weeks ago he was a metro mayor. He is now one of the most powerful leaders of the ‘free world”.
Of course he has to prioritise the wellbeing of the British people, but supporting the world’s poorest people is not a zero sum game. Overseas development is a policy pioneered by the Labour Party, international solidarity is one of its guiding principles.
It is truly shameful that the Labour Party has slashed aid to a country that has been a staunch friend since its independence from British colonial rule in 1964. Indeed the British Army continues to have a peaceful presence there, helping train Malawi’s military.
Every child, including those in Malawi, deserves to have “hope in their heart”, but does Andy Burnham have the moral courage to reverse this despicable decision?