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LONDON — Anneliese Dodds resigned as Britain’s international development minister Friday after the government cut overseas aid contributions to fund increased defense spending.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday that international development funding would fall from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent of gross national income from 2027 in a bid to fund a defense spending increase.
He insisted it was “not an announcement I am happy to make” and that the U.K. would continue playing a humanitarian role in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza.
But Dodds, resigning Friday, warned it would be “impossible to maintain these priorities given the depth of the cut” and said the effect “would be far greater than presented.”
The former development minister, who previously served as Starmer’s shadow chancellor, warned the move would likely lead to a British withdrawal from numerous African, Caribbean and Western Balkan nations “at a time when Russia has been aggressively increasing its global presence.”
She also claimed the U.K. would have a reduced voice in the G7, G20 and World Bank and be “shut out” of multiple multilateral bodies. She earned against the decision being portrayed as following Trump’s own “slipstream of cuts” to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Dodds said she had delayed her resignation until Starmer’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump Thursday was complete so you “had a united Cabinet behind you.” But losing a close ally will be seen as a blow for the prime minister after his engagement with Trump went down positively.
In a letter responding to Dodds Friday, Starmer praised her “hard work, deep commitment and friendship,” and left the door open to her return by saying she “will have more to contribute in the future.”
But he mounted a robust defense of his move to cut aid, arguing it was not a decision taken without consideration of the consequences and insisting the government will try to find a path back to restoring development spending.
“The decision I have taken on the impact on ODA was a difficult and painful decision and not one I take lightly,” he said, according to a copy of the letter provided by No.10 Downing Street.
“We will do everything we can to return to a world where that is not the case and to rebuild a capability on development. However, protecting our national security must always be the first duty of any government and I will always act in the best interests of the British people.”
Former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, a Conservative, backed Dodds’ decision to quit.
“Labour’s disgraceful and cynical actions demean the Labour Party ‘s reputation as they balance the books on the backs of the poorest people in the world,” the Tory MP told POLITICO. “Shame on them and kudos to a politician of decency and principle.”
Development spending was previously cut by the Tories from 0.7 to 0.5 percent in 2021 in response to Covid-19. The party also scrapped Britain’s dedicated aid department under Boris Johnson.
Stefan Boscia contributed reporting.
