Theresa May accuses Boris Johnson’s Government of turning back on poor with foreign aid cut

Theresa May has accused Boris Johnson’s Government of “turning its back on the poor” by cutting the UK’s foreign aid budget.

The former Prime Minister delivered a devastating attack on the Government, saying they had broken their promise to the world’s most deprived.

In a speech to the Commons, just metres from where Mr Johnson sat, the MP for Maidenhead asked where the Government’s vision was as it “turns its back on some of the poorest in the world”.

MPs will vote later on Tuesday on the decision to temporarily slash the UK’s foreign aid budget by £4 billion in response to increased pandemic spending.

Many Tory MPs have expressed their fury at the reduction from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent, arguing the 0.7 figure was a commitment in their 2019 manifesto.

Opposing the cut, Mrs May said foreign aid was not for “palaces for dictators” and added: “It’s about what cuts to funding mean. That fewer girls will be educated, more girls and boys will become slaves, more children will go hungry and more of the poorest people in the world will die.”

The former PM, who faced multiple rebellions during the battles over Brexit, added: “I have been in this House for nearly a quarter of a century, during that time I have never voted against a three-line whip from my party.

“As prime minister I suffered at the hands of rebels, I know what it is like to see party colleagues voting against their Government.

“We made a promise to the poorest people in the world, the Government has broken that promise. This motion means that promise may be broken for years to come.

“With deep regret, I will vote against the motion today.”

It comes after the Government backed down on allowing a vote on the cut after the Speaker said the House of Commons must have a say.

In a surprise move, MPs will also be given the chance to vote to restore it to 0.7 per cent when two fiscal targets are met.

These are when the Office for Budget Responsibility confirms the government is no longer borrowing for day-to-day spending and when underlying debt is falling.

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However, Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell warned the Government’s olive branch was a “fiscal trap” and called on rebels to stand firm.

The Prime Minister defended the controversial cut, insisting it was necessary to protect the public finances following the coronavirus pandemic.

He said the UK’s public finances are under a “greater strain than ever before in peacetime history”, adding: “Every pound we spend on aid has to be borrowed and, in fact, represents not our money but money that we’re taking from future generations.”

Mr Johnson told MPs “we all believe in the principle that aid can transform lives” and voting for the Government’s motion “will provide certainty for our aid budget and an affordable path back to 0.7% while also allowing for investment in other priorities, including the NHS, schools and the police”.

“As soon as circumstances allow and the tests are met, we will return to the target that unites us,” he insisted.

The Government has said a defeat on the motion would result in a return to 0.7 per cent spending in 2022, with Mr Sunak warning that would be likely to have “consequences for the fiscal situation, including for taxation and current public spending plans”.

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