The International Development Minister has quit over Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to slash the foreign aid budget to increase defence spending. Anneliese Dodds has also resigned the Women and Equalities brief she has held since July 2024 over the cuts announced earlier this week.
The UK’s defence bill will rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 - an increase of £13.4billlion, the Prime Minister said. Sir Keir said he had made the "extremely difficult and painful choice" to slash funding for overseas aid from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% over the next two years to raise the cash.
In a resignation letter, posted on social media on Friday, Ms Dodds said: “Ultimately these cuts will remove food and health care from desperate people - deeply harming the UK’s reputation.”. The MP for Oxford East and former chair of the Labour Party posted on X: "It is with sadness that I have had to tender my resignation as Minister for International Development and for Women and Equalities.".
She added an image of the letter of resignation sent to Sir Keir, in which she added that she knew there were no "easy paths" to increase defence spending, but that she disagreed with the decision to cut overseas development aid. Moazzam Malik, Chief Executive of charity Save the Children UK, said: “The UK Government has lost a highly principled and highly effective minister with a deep commitment to the world’s most vulnerable children and people.
“This resignation highlights the wide coalition against the Government's decision to cut international aid to the lowest levels on record, at a time when conflict, humanitarian emergencies, climate change and deep seated poverty are devastating children’s lives.
“We call on the Government to act in the UK's national interest: reverse the aid cut now. The UK's future security and prosperity depend on tackling global challenges and building reliable partnerships. “We join politicians, military leaders, business people and charity workers in calling for a balanced approach to development, defence and diplomacy. “Poor children and their communities deserve better from Britain.”.
