Burnham’s plan to restore UK aid spending

Andy Burnham is planning to reverse the cuts to Britain’s aid budget made by his predecessors Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak, according to reports. A roadmap for returning the UK to spending 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on international aid will be drawn up as part of a major shake-up of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), The Independent reported. Ed Miliband is set to be named Foreign Secretary and put in charge of overhauling Britain’s international development aims, as well as prioritising climate goals, senior Labour sources said. The aid spending plan was absent from Mr Burnham’s brief first speech as Prime Minister, in which he pledged to end rough sleeping and bring down the welfare bill in order to fund defence and council housing. But it follows anger within the Labour Party over what was seen as a broken manifesto promise, when Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, slashed aid spending to 0.3 per cent of GNI. Senior Labour MPs have been lobbying for a return to the 0.7 per cent commitment, a target first established by the United Nations in the 1970s. It has since become a key yardstick for international efforts to reduce poverty and tackle major health issues like the HIV/AIDS epidemic, vaccine access, and maternal mortality in poor countries.