Minister Anneliese Dodds quits over aid cuts

International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds has resigned implicit the premier minister's cuts to the assistance budget.

In a missive to Sir Keir Starmer, Dodds said the cuts to planetary aid, announced earlier this week to money an summation successful defence spending, would "remove nutrient and healthcare from hopeless radical - profoundly harming the UK's reputation".

She told the PM she had delayed her resignation until aft his gathering with President Trump, saying it was "imperative that you had a agreed furniture down you arsenic you acceptable disconnected for Washington".

The Oxford East MP, who attended furniture contempt not being a furniture minister, said it was with "sadness" that she was resigning.

She said that portion Sir Keir had been wide helium was not "ideologically opposed" to planetary development, the cuts were "being portrayed arsenic pursuing successful President Trump's slipstream of cuts to USAID".

Ahead of his travel to conscionable the US president, Sir Keir announced assistance backing would beryllium reduced from 0.5% of gross nationalist income to 0.3% successful 2027 successful bid to money an summation successful defence spending.

In his reply to Dodds's resignation letter, the premier curate thanked the departing curate for her "hard work, heavy committedness and friendship".

He said cutting assistance was a "difficult and achy determination and not 1 I instrumentality lightly" adding: "We volition bash everything we can...to rebuild a capableness connected development."

Baroness Chapman of Darlington, formerly a Labour MP, has been appointed to regenerate Dodds arsenic planetary improvement minister.

In her resignation letter, Dodds said she welcomed an summation to defence spending astatine a clip erstwhile the post-war planetary bid had "come crashing down".

She added that she understood immoderate of the summation mightiness person to beryllium paid for by cuts to ODA [overseas improvement assistance].

However, she expressed disappointment that alternatively of discussing "our fiscal rules and attack to taxation", the premier curate had opted to let the ODA to "absorb the full burden".

She said the cuts would "likely pb to a UK pull-out from galore African, Caribbean and Western Balkan nations - astatine a clip erstwhile Russia has been aggressively expanding its planetary presence".

"It volition apt pb to withdrawal from determination banks and a reduced committedness to the World Bank; the UK being unopen retired of galore multilateral bodies; and a reduced dependable for the UK successful the G7, G20 and successful clime negotiations."

The spending cuts mean £6bn little volition beryllium spent connected overseas assistance each year. The assistance fund is already utilized to wage for hotels for asylum seekers successful the UK, meaning the existent magnitude walk connected assistance overseas volition beryllium astir 0.15% of gross nationalist income.

The premier minister's determination to summation defence spending came up of his gathering successful Washington - the US president has been captious of European countries for not spending capable connected defence and alternatively relying connected American subject support.

He welcomed the UK's committedness to walk more, but Sir Keir has been attacked by planetary improvement charities and immoderate of his ain MPs for the move.

Dodds held disconnected her announcement until the premier minister's instrumentality from Washington, successful bid not to overshadow the important visit, and it was wide she did not privation to marque things hard for the premier minister.

But different MPs person been uneasy astir the decision, including Labour MP Sarah Champion, who chairs the planetary improvement committee, who said that cutting the assistance fund to money defence spending is simply a mendacious system that would "only marque the satellite little safe".

Labour MP Diane Abbott, who had been captious of the cuts earlier successful the week, said it was "shameful" that different ministers had not resigned on with Dodds.

Dodds's resignation besides highlights that decisions the premier curate feels helium has to instrumentality volition beryllium astatine likelihood with immoderate of the views of Labour MPs, and those volition adhd to tensions betwixt the enactment and backbenchers.

In a station connected X, Conservative person Kemi Badenoch said: "I disagree with the PM connected galore things but connected reducing the overseas assistance fund to money UK defence? He's perfectly right.

"He whitethorn not beryllium capable to person the ministers successful his ain cabinet, but connected this subject, I volition backmost him."

However 1 of her backbenchers - and a erstwhile planetary improvement curate - Andrew Mitchell backed Dodds, accusing Labour of trying "disgraceful and cynical actions". "Shame connected them and kudos to a person of decency and principle," helium added.

Liberal Democrat person Sir Ed Davey said Dodds had done "the close thing" and urged the authorities to find alternate ways to wage for increases to defence spending.

He suggested raising wealth done increases to the integer services taxation oregon mounting up a European rearmament bank, which would lend wealth to governments to bargain subject instrumentality oregon the backstage assemblage to grow their manufacturing capacity.

Sir Ed argued that if the UK chopped backmost connected overseas aid, China and Russia would "fill the vacuum".

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said she was "sorry to hear" of Dodds's resignation.

"It is simply a truly hard determination that was made but it was perfectly close the PM and furniture endorse the PM's actions to walk much wealth connected defence," she said.

Dodds archetypal became a Labour MP successful 2017 erstwhile she was elected to correspond the Oxford East constituency.

Under Jeremy Corbyn's enactment of the Labour Party she served arsenic a shadiness Treasury curate and was promoted to shadiness chancellor erstwhile Sir Keir took over.

Following Labour's mediocre show successful the 2021 section elections, she was demoted to the women and equalities brief.

Since July 2024, she has served arsenic planetary improvement minister.

Dodds becomes the 4th curate to permission Starmer's government, pursuing Louise Haigh, Tulip Siddiq and Andrew Gwynne.