International development organisations have slammed Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to slash the UK’s overseas aid budget, warning that the move could put over 600,000 lives at risk.
The government announced that the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be reduced from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income (GNI) by 2027 – a cut worth around £6 billion.
The decision has triggered widespread criticism from NGOs, who claim it will have devastating consequences for millions in low- and middle-income countries.
In response, Bond, the UK’s leading network for international development organisations, described the decision as a “dereliction of responsibility” and accused the Labour government of breaking its manifesto pledge to restore the UK’s global reputation on aid and humanitarian support.
According to Bond, these cuts come at a time of acute humanitarian and climate crises, and will directly endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people.
While urging the government to reverse its decision, Bond acknowledged that the cuts are likely to go ahead.
However, the organisation believes the government can still limit the damage by maintaining the aid budget at 0.5% of GNI until 2026 and taking more ambitious action to reduce the use of aid funds to support refugees within the UK. They also called for pausing capital contributions to British International Investment (BII) and redirecting those funds towards protecting life-saving programmes in fragile countries.
Despite the backlash, Sir Keir Starmer defended the move, calling it a “very difficult decision” while Development Minister Baroness Chapman insisted the government remains committed to global development.
However, campaigners argue that if the Prime Minister is truly concerned about protecting lives and the UK’s global leadership, urgent action must be taken to prevent catastrophic cuts to critical humanitarian programmes.
