Britain’s international development minister quits over PM Starmer’s cut to foreign aid budget

LONDON – British International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds resigned on Feb 28 in a surprise move triggered by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to slash the foreign aid budget in order to boost defence spending.

Ms Dodds’ resignation comes a day after Mr Starmer enjoyed one of the most successful days of his premiership in his meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House, where they discussed a trade deal and the war in Ukraine.

Days before, in a signal to Mr Trump that Britain was prepared to make sacrifices to boost Europe’s security, Mr Starmer raised the defence budget, saying he would fund the increase by cutting the overseas development budget from 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product to 0.3 per cent.

The decision stunned humanitarian charities, who warned it would tarnish British influence abroad and have a devastating impact on those they support.

Ms Dodds said in a resignation letter to Starmer that the depth of the cuts would make it impossible to maintain Britain’s development priorities, including in war-torn Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine.

“Ultimately, these cuts will remove food and healthcare from desperate people, deeply harming the UK’s reputation,” she wrote in the letter posted on X.

Ms Dodds said she decided to go before the prime minister’s trip to Washington but held off making the announcement to avoid overshadowing it.

“I know you have been clear that you are not ideologically opposed to international development. But the reality is that this decision is already being portrayed as following in President Trump’s slipstream of cuts to USAid,” she said, referring to the US decision to pause all foreign development assistance.

Britain is the fifth-largest international aid donor, giving over US$19 billion (S$26 billion) in 2023, according to OECD data. The United States tops the ranking, followed by Germany, European Union institutions and Japan.

The international development minister’s brief includes oversight of Britain’s humanitarian programmes all over the world, from providing food, water and shelter to thousands fleeing conflict in Sudan to a girls’ education programme in Pakistan.

Ms Dodds, 46, told Mr Starmer in the letter she recognised the need to boost defence spending but was disappointed that the aid budget had absorbed the “entire burden” of the decision.

Ms Dodds had worked closely with Mr Starmer since he was appointed as Labour Party leader five years ago.

She served as his chief spokeswoman on the economy for over a year until she was moved out of the role in 2021 over a perceived failure to effectively communicate the party’s vision. REUTERS