Kirsty McNeill, the newly appointed international development minister, emphasized her strong support for overseas aid while reaffirming Labour’s commitment to restoring foreign aid spending to 0.7% of national income. Speaking ahead of a scheduled address to charities and advocacy groups, McNeill underlined the party’s intention to work toward its former spending target, though she did not specify a timeline for achieving it, citing fiscal constraints.
McNeill, who previously served as an adviser to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and held an executive role at Save the Children, highlighted the importance of British aid in saving lives and addressing global challenges. She pledged to foster new, flexible partnerships to tackle development issues more effectively. “I’m a huge believer in aid, I’m a huge believer in the quality of British aid, and when you have more of it you can have more impact,” she said.
Labour’s 0.7% aid target, first adopted during the Blair government and broadly supported across parties, was abandoned under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak amid the Covid-19 pandemic as domestic spending priorities shifted. Since then, aid spending has been reduced to roughly 0.3% of national income, drawing criticism from charities that argue these cuts have substantially diminished bilateral support to some of the world’s poorest countries. McNeill’s predecessor, Jenny Chapman, resigned amid disagreements over the scale of the reductions.
McNeill reiterated that Labour’s leadership, including Prime Minister Andy Burnham, remains committed to the manifesto pledge made prior to the 2024 general election to restore the aid commitment when possible. She acknowledged concerns raised within the party over public perceptions of aid spending but insisted that Labour should confidently articulate the moral and practical case for international development. “If you have the capability to save people’s lives and to change people’s lives, you should deploy that capability ambitiously,” she said.
The minister also outlined a specific initiative to address the humanitarian impacts of El Niño, announced through a £15 million humanitarian crisis fund. This money is intended to support preventative measures such as livestock vaccinations and direct cash transfers to farmers in countries most vulnerable to the climate phenomenon, which the United Nations has warned could be the most severe in a millennium, increasing the risk of natural disasters like wildfires and flooding.
McNeill acknowledged that voters’ primary concerns tend to focus on the effectiveness and value for money of aid programs, rather than opposition to aid itself. She pledged to maximize the impact of existing resources by improving efficiency and accountability, pledging to “sweat the asset” to ensure aid delivers meaningful results amid fiscal constraints.
Her upcoming speech at the New Economic Foundation think tank is expected to further outline Labour’s approach to international development and the role aid will play in its broader policy agenda moving forward.