255 views
Social Justice > Published by David Taylor, December 2nd 2011 at 10:27 am

Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world’s poorest

Print Friendly

David Taylor is the chair of the Labour Campaign for International Development (LCID, @LabourCID)

Whilst the Conservatives’ misguided austerity drive is hurting hard working families up and down the country, this government has at least claimed that they would not be balancing the books on the back of the world’s poorest people.

Indeed, only on Monday did secretary of state Andrew Mitchell say in an interview with the Financial Times that;

“The prime minister, the chancellor and I have made it absolutely clear that we stand by this commitment and that we won’t balance the books on the backs of the poorest people in the world.”

LCID have already detailed in length how this government is failing to show the necessary ambition, vision and leadership on international development – most notably on their opposition to a Robin Hood Tax at either a global or an EU level – at the recent G20 Summit in Cannes there was categorical evidence they were lobbying hard against a global agreement being reached.

The key line of the defence of the Conservatives to this charge was that they were ring-fencing the aid budget – something we have praised. But on Tuesday even this was undermined.

For in the autumn statement not only did Osborne reaffirm his opposition to a Robin Hood Tax, not only did relax measures meant to tackle climate change – he actually cut the aid budget by nearly £1.2 billion.

Osborne said;

“the spending plans of the Department for International Development meant that the UK was on course to exceed 0.7 per cent of national income in 2013.

That I don’t think can be justified and so we are adjusting those plans so we don’t overshoot the target.”

Osborne is being incredibly disingenuous here. Let’s be clear – firstly, ‘adjusting’ DFID’s plans means a cut of £1.17bn to the amount they committed to spend in the 2010 spending review, as the box below illustrates;

Secondly, DFID was not due to ‘overspend’ when the department’s spending plans were first set in 2010. The only reason they are now is because GNI projections are now in 2011 lower than they should have been – and that is because Osborne’s ruinous economic policies have flat-lined the economy.

And even if we were to admonish this government of blame for our perilous economic position, this government should have had the courage to resist wielding the axe – UK aid never reduced under Labour, even during the height of the recession.

When Alasdair Darling delivered his 2009 budget, the global recession had reduced the UK’s GNI – yet the then Labour government still kept to the higher figures we promised in the 2007 comprehensive spending review. And not only that, we actually spent more in 2009-10 than we committed to in the 2007 CSR; £1.8 billion more over the two years.

The historic 0.7 per cent target was never meant to be a maximum limit. It was meant to be a minimum amount representing our minimum commitment to the world.

Relative to the UK’s total government expenditure of £170 billion, the amount cut is not a large amount – and it won’t make a dent on the deficit.

But the impact on some of the world’s poorest people could have been massive. The amount cut represents;

• Enough to vaccinate 5.3 billion people against polio (it costs £2.22 to pay for 10 vaccinations)

• More than DFID’s entire spend on health

• Two-thirds the amount DFID spends in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa

• The same amount of aid the UK has pledged to Bangladesh over the next 4 years

The key questions that must now be asked are the following;

1. Where will money be cut from? On which DFID or multilateral programmes will not be either cut or left unrealised?

2. When will they bring forward the legislation they promised and enshrine in law the requirement to meet the 0.7% target from 2013? Labour drafted legislation that was ready go, so why the continued delay and equivocation over the date for tabling it in Parliament?

3. If the UK economy improves, will Osborne restore the amount he cut?

This government claim not to be balancing the books on the back of the world’s poorest people has been severely undermined. This £1.2 billion cut is a clever move by Osborne to appease the Tory right – who have been relentless in their opposition to UK aid – whilst remaining within the technicalities of their promises.

But as a result of their cut thousands of people who could have been helped by Britain – been immunised, gone to school or received treatment from HIV and AIDS – may now pay the price of this government’s failing economic policies.

See also:

• Britain should be proud of the progress made in battling pneumonia – Ivan Lewis MP, November 14th 2011

• Cameron is abdicating his responsibility on international development – David Taylor, October 14th 2011

• International development back in the news – where it belongs – Jim Dobbin MP, June 8th 2011

• An open letter to David Cameron on the importance of the 0.7% target – David Taylor, May 17th 2011

• International development will test Clegg at Lib Dem conference – David Taylor, September 16th 2010

  • Anonymous

    Whereas you want to dump the debts on future generations.

    If its evil that children in the third world have to pay for debts run up by kleptomanic leaders, why isn’t it evil in the UK?

    Why should every child receive a present of 225,000 of debt (linked to inflation) as their start in life?

  • Anonymous

    You can always make a personal donation. Anyone can.

    However, forcing people into debt to make such payments isn’t moral either.

  • http://twitter.com/labourcid/status/142554372570746880 LCID

    Aid should not be cut by £1.bn because of Osborne's mismanagement of the economy says @DavidTaylor85 for @LeftFootFwd http://t.co/t7W1jeaq

  • http://twitter.com/c_a_jonestechno/status/142554387666051072 CAROLE JONES

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest, writes @LabourCID's @DavidTaylor85: http://t.co/IQbX435a #as11

  • http://twitter.com/evidence4action/status/142554425129566208 Evidence 4 Action

    Aid should not be cut by £1.bn because of Osborne's mismanagement of the economy says @DavidTaylor85 for @LeftFootFwd http://t.co/t7W1jeaq

  • http://twitter.com/annpettifor/status/142554428669566976 Ann Pettifor

    Aid should not be cut by £1.bn because of Osborne's mismanagement of the economy says @DavidTaylor85 for @LeftFootFwd http://t.co/t7W1jeaq

  • http://twitter.com/advocacyai/status/142554432025014272 advocacyAi

    Aid should not be cut by £1.bn because of Osborne's mismanagement of the economy says @DavidTaylor85 for @LeftFootFwd http://t.co/t7W1jeaq

  • http://twitter.com/ahmad_noor/status/142554530083647488 Ahmad Noor

    RT leftfootfwd: Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest, writes @LabourCID: http://t.co/YBS6P1ba #as11

  • http://twitter.com/davidtaylor85/status/142554565324177408 David Taylor

    Aid should not be cut by £1.2bn because of Osborne's mismanagement of the economy – my article for @LeftFootFwd http://t.co/wmLdclmo

  • http://twitter.com/therightarticle/status/142554745951879169 Michael

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world’s poorest l Left Foot Forward – http://t.co/tJTeiEuF

  • http://twitter.com/labour52rose/status/142556755342266368 Alex Braithwaite

    RT @leftfootfwd: Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest http://t.co/DARaJJCF

  • http://twitter.com/politicalplanet/status/142559336001048577 Political Planet

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world’s poorest: David Taylor writes about the cut to interna… http://t.co/pKvaLeDw

  • http://twitter.com/threadbarepanda/status/142559686175109120 Panda

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest, writes @LabourCID's @DavidTaylor85: http://t.co/IQbX435a #as11

  • http://twitter.com/psmirn/status/142559728747294721 PeterSmirniotopoulos

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world’s poorest: David Taylor writes about the cut to interna… http://t.co/pKvaLeDw

  • http://twitter.com/tomladds/status/142560189353177088 Tom Ladds

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest, writes @LabourCID's @DavidTaylor85: http://t.co/IQbX435a #as11

  • Jupiter07

    Is Aid Killing Africa? Dambisa Moyo talks about Dead Aid on ABC

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIPvlQOCfAQ&feature=related

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/feb/19/dambisa-moyo-dead-aid-africa

    “Everybody knows it doesn’t work’

    Despite receiving more than $1 trillion from the west over the last half century, Africa remains in dire economic straits. Dambisa Moyo thinks aid is to blame and should stop now. She talks to Aida Edemariam”

  • David Taylor

    One book does not undermine a bank of evidence proving good aid saves lives – GAVI has for example immunised over 326 million children from disease – http://www.gavialliance.org/about/mission/impact/

    UK aid is a world leader in aid effectiveness and has permanently lifted 3 million people out of poverty each year. That’s money well spent I’d say.

  • http://twitter.com/jon_bartley/status/142564621885243392 Jonathan Bartley

    V good work by @davidtaylor85 highlighting how Government is cutting aid budget by £1.2 bn http://t.co/vixFQs2x

  • http://twitter.com/cllrmarkbennett/status/142564982201139200 Cllr Mark Bennett

    V good work by @davidtaylor85 highlighting how Government is cutting aid budget by £1.2 bn http://t.co/vixFQs2x

  • http://twitter.com/shalom_activist/status/142565395352653824 Shalom Activist

    V good work by @davidtaylor85 highlighting how Government is cutting aid budget by £1.2 bn http://t.co/vixFQs2x

  • http://twitter.com/maylor/status/142565435613790208 Phil Maylor

    V good work by @davidtaylor85 highlighting how Government is cutting aid budget by £1.2 bn http://t.co/vixFQs2x

  • Jupiter07

    If you read Dambissa Moyo’s work, it isn’t a case of stopping emergency aid, but rather the massive and pointless cash handouts between governments that entrench political corruption.

    Aid is also pointless from Britain’s point of view when we spend £16 billion per annum subsidising the EU’s disgusting and wastefuil Common Agricultural Policy

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/eu-subsidies-deny-africas-farmers-of-their-livelihood-478419.html

    “British households pay an extra £832 a year in grocery bills due to the huge EU subsidy system that is also depriving tens of thousands of African farmers of their livelihoods, a charity warns.”

    and

    “The £30bn-a-year EU agricultural subsidy regime is one of the biggest iniquities facing farmers in Africa and other developing counties. They cannot export their products because they compete with the lower prices made possible by payments.

    In addition, European countries dump thousands of tons of subsidised exports in Africa every year so that local producers cannot even compete on a level playing field in their own land”

    Slash aid and increase trade!

  • http://twitter.com/creativecrip/status/142572119237201920 TheCreativeCrip

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world’s poorest l Left Foot Forward – http://t.co/tJTeiEuF

  • http://twitter.com/girl_interrupt_/status/142577791018344448 Girl Interrupted

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world’s poorest l Left Foot Forward – http://t.co/tJTeiEuF

  • http://twitter.com/davidtaylor85/status/142578050914189312 David Taylor

    V good work by @davidtaylor85 highlighting how Government is cutting aid budget by £1.2 bn http://t.co/vixFQs2x

  • http://twitter.com/labourcid/status/142578120900345857 LCID

    RT leftfootfwd: Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest, writes @LabourCID: http://t.co/YBS6P1ba #as11

  • http://twitter.com/labourcid/status/142578131763601408 LCID

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest, writes @LabourCID's @DavidTaylor85: http://t.co/IQbX435a #as11

  • http://twitter.com/davidtaylor85/status/142578193839292417 David Taylor

    Aid should not be cut by £1.bn because of Osborne's mismanagement of the economy says @DavidTaylor85 for @LeftFootFwd http://t.co/t7W1jeaq

  • http://twitter.com/bencooper86/status/142578440174977024 Ben Cooper

    Aid should not be cut by £1.bn because of Osborne's mismanagement of the economy says @DavidTaylor85 for @LeftFootFwd http://t.co/t7W1jeaq

  • http://twitter.com/scarlett16/status/142585352467648515 Donna Govan

    Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest, writes @LabourCID's @DavidTaylor85: http://t.co/IQbX435a #as11

  • http://twitter.com/postpolionews/status/142589793874874368 Chris Salter

    RT @leftfootfwd: Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest http://t.co/k6ckdeJG #ppnews #polio

  • David Taylor

    I didn’t say it was a comment on emergency aid. Budget sector support – that is aid given to a country to help them build a sustainbly financed health or education sector is difficult but in the long term one of the most effective forms of aid, if done properly, as it is through DFID.

    And I have always advocated trade reform as have LCID and agree that CAP should be abolished.

  • http://twitter.com/oilywaters/status/142593667285258240 H. O.

    RT @leftfootfwd: Tories are balancing the books on the backs of the world's poorest http://t.co/AnV5HiqK

  • Jupiter07

    Good – that means you must be in favour of EU withdrawal because the CAP is written into the Treaties. The CAP has now been going on for nearly 50 years and will never be reformed. You cannot get rid of the CAP without unanimity across the EU and with all those EU states with a vested interest in the CAP, a treaty change on this issue never has and never will be achieved.

    Trade is a far, far superior mechanism for development than aid and Quango’s and it is worth far more, has less govenment involvement and has no need for politicised quangos to interfere. Trade is what has enabled India to prosper and is what will lift Africa’s living standards.

    Scrap foreign aid (except emergency aid), scrap the CAP and have open trade – thats the future and Dambissa Moyo is brilliant!

  • http://twitter.com/oxfamsouthwest/status/142634296811855872 Oxfam South West

    @DavidTaylor85 highlighting how Government is cutting aid budget by £1.2 bn http://t.co/njb9udbx

  • Mr. Sensible

    Disgrace.

  • http://twitter.com/evilc154/status/144103845105119233 Clive Burgess

    Osborne now talking abt international aid – for the reality of the Tories' policy on aid, see: http://t.co/IQbX435a

  • http://twitter.com/lukerigg/status/144863778629107712 Luke Rigg

    Aid should not be cut by £1.bn because of Osborne's mismanagement of the economy says @DavidTaylor85 for @LeftFootFwd http://t.co/t7W1jeaq

  • http://twitter.com/simonbarrow/status/145649739369680896 Simon Barrow

    V good work by @davidtaylor85 highlighting how Government is cutting aid budget by £1.2 bn http://t.co/vixFQs2x

  • http://twitter.com/davidtaylor85/status/155648563592962048 David Taylor

    @jonathanglennie sorry I know point of twitter is 140 characters but this is better exp of I what mean http://t.co/3OTEY1RL

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/andrew-mitchell-conservatives-aid-target-debt-relief/ Conservatives to meet aid target by counting ‘made up’ debt relief as aid | Left Foot Forward

    [...] cutting the aid budget again, following on the heels of Osborne’s decision to cut the aid budget by £1.2bn because their mismanagement of the economy has seen GDP [...]