British government under fire for ‘wrecking ball’ aid cuts

LONDON – The British government faced growing criticism on July 17 from NGOs after detailing severe cuts to overseas aid budgets, in some cases up to 90 per cent, for countries in Africa and Asia.

Bilateral aid spending will be slashed by 43 per cent over the next three years, equivalent to more than £1 billion (S$1.7 billion), according to analyses of the foreign ministry’s annual accounts released on July 17.

Some of Africa’s lowest-income countries, such as Malawi and Mozambique, will see British aid fall by 90 per cent by 2029 compared to pre-cut levels, the development charities umbrella group Bond calculated.

Afghanistan and Myanmar will see their aid slashed by nearly 40 per cent and 30 per cent respectively in the financial year to 2026 to 2027, it noted.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had pledged to prioritise “fragile and conflict-affected states” when reducing budgets, Bond said, but other war-scarred countries like Syria, Somalia and South Sudan were set to be severely affected.

Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the cuts in 2025 to increase defence spending, prompting the resignation of Britain’s international development minister.

“British aid to Burma saves lives so these cuts will kill people,” said Anna Roberts, executive director of rights group Burma Campaign UK, said on July 17, using Myanmar’s country name prior to its 1948 independence.

She accused Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper of “failing the people of Burma” by “cutting off aid instead of cutting off arms and money” to Myanmar’s military rulers.

‘Unconscionable’

Oxfam GB’s Jean McLean said the government had “taken a wrecking ball to the aid budget at exactly the moment when conflict, humanitarian crises, hunger and climate breakdown are driving global need to record levels”.

“They will be felt by families facing starvation, children denied healthcare and education, and communities struggling to survive the impacts of conflict and climate disasters.”

Children’s charity Plan International UK called the cuts “unconscionable” while Save the Children UK said the country “should be stepping up its international leadership, not retreating”.

Many urged former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who is set to replace Starmer as prime minister on July 20, to act.

“A new prime minister has a chance to turn the page,” Adrian Lovett, head of the Africa-focused One Campaign NGO, said.

“We urge Andy Burnham, often dubbed the ‘King of the North’, not to forget the Global South,” he added, noting he “has built his career on standing up for communities that felt left behind”.

The UK made spending 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) on overseas aid a statutory duty. The Conservative government reduced that to 0.5 per cent in 2020 following the Covid pandemic.

Starmer then announced in February 2025 plans to slash it further, to 0.3 per cent of GNI, to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of the economy by 2027.

Aid minister Jenny Chapman defended the move on July 16, saying the government was not “turning away” from global challenges and “making every pound of UK development spending work harder”. AFP