Conservative plans to reduce the aid budget by 90% have been criticised by several organisations and charities, who warn it would leave the UK unable to cover existing contributions to the UN and World Bank. They suggest such a cut would “irreparably damage” Britain’s global credibility.
During the Tory party conference in Birmingham, Kemi Badenoch stated that as prime minister, she would decrease the aid budget from £9bn to £1bn annually. This reduction is intended to part-fund 50,000 new prison places in England and Wales. The culture budget would also be cut by £1bn a year to support these plans.
Sources with knowledge of the UK’s commitments to global institutions described Badenoch’s plan as impractical, with one source calling the move “posturing”. Multilateral overseas aid totalled £2.8bn in 2024, and existing commitments to organisations like the UN and the World Bank’s International Development Association amount to over £1.6bn a year.
Gideon Rabinowitz, policy director at Bond, an umbrella group for development NGOs, stated that a £1bn limit would mean the UK “shooting itself in the foot” and renouncing its position on the global stage. Monica Harding, the Liberal Democrats’ international development spokesperson, accused the Conservatives of making the world’s poorest people pay for prison places.