New Government: What’s on the agenda for international development?

When speaking prior to July 2024’s General Election, the then-Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy described Labour’s foreign policy as ‘progressive realism’ which ‘advocates using realist means to pursue progressive ends’. In practice, he said this would include being realistic about the threats that Russia and China pose to our national security, and to that of other countries.

This was reflected in the Labour manifesto as it said, on the topic of Ukraine, a Labour government would work with international partners to enable the seizure and repurposing of frozen Russian state assets to finance support for Ukraine. They also promised to back calls for a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Putin, and to help Ukraine to become a member of NATO.

Lammy previously committed to visiting Ukraine within the first 100 days of a Labour Government, but this was not stated in the manifesto, nor has there been a mention of any plans of this. In Labour’s first few days in Government, however, Lammy visited Germany, Poland, and Sweden, emphasising the UK’s continued backing for Ukraine. Defence Secretary John Healey also headed to Odesa to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. After the meeting, Healey announced that the UK would provide a new package of support to Ukraine. At the NATO summit in Washington last month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that the UK would commit to a military aid package for Ukraine which would deliver £3bn every year until at least 2030/31.

When it comes to international development, there were previously some suggestions that Labour would reinstate the Department for International Development (DfID), however, Lammy previously showed opposition to the idea and there was no mention of this in their manifesto. The British Foreign Policy Group said that, because of this, we can expect ‘a lot of continuity’ from the last government – also highlighting that there is little to suggest that Labour will accelerate the pace at which the UK returns to spending 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on international development.

Labour committed in their manifesto that international development spending would return to 0.7% of GNI ‘as soon as the fiscal situation allows’. Just before Parliament rose for summer recess, Development Minister Anneliese Dodds reaffirmed this target in a written statement. The Center for Global Development said that this target is just one of the seven steps that were laid out by the former Shadow Minister for International Development Lisa Nandy, and the other six should remain priorities for the new Foreign Office- calling them ‘a sound basis for reform’.

Since the Government has been in recess, Dodds has continued Lammy’s globetrotting mission as Labour seek to be active on the international scene. Just this past week, she was in Jordan, where she announced a new UK aid package for Gaza. Dodds also announced £6m in funding to support UNICEF’s work in helping vulnerable families in Gaza. Additionally, following calls from the UNHCR, the Government announced that it is allocating £14m to support Syrian refugees living in the Zaatari refugee camp on Jordan’s border with Syria. The funding will be delivered in September, with £7m going to the UNHCR and another £7m to the World Food Programme.

Israel and Palestine has long been a challenging subject for Labour. The Labour manifesto said the party would continue to push for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the increase of aid into Gaza. Starmer’s Labour, unlike during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, did not commit themselves to recognising a Palestinian state on day one of their Government, but instead said it will recognise the Palestinian state as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution.

Starmer may find that – with such a large majority – some incoming MPs will want Labour to take a more actively pro-Palestine approach, especially as concerns grow about the worsening humanitarian crisis. Such a shift, however, would strain the UK’s relations with key allies, as well as cause challenges to maintaining party unity on the issue – which is already proving difficult, as Starmer suspended seven Labour MPs on a separate issue.

Lammy also previously said that a Labour government would start talks on the creation of a new international contact group to coordinate with Western and Arab partners over Middle East peace, but there was no mention of this in the manifesto or since – but this may be something to look out for in the near future.

Despite conflict in the Middle East receiving mention during the King’s Speech, only one Bill led on by the Foreign Office was announced: the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (Status) Bill. It was initially a Private Members’ Bill during the 2023/24 parliamentary year, and essentially means that the UK Government can treat the CPA and the ICRC similar to international Organisations the UK is a member of.

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