Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Bloody disgrace’: Ruth Davidson furious after all Scots Tory MPs vote for Boris Johnson’s international aid cuts

Post Thumbnail

Ruth Davidson has branded Boris Johnson’s decision to slash overseas aid “a bloody disgrace”.

MPs voted by a majority of 35 to back the reduced level of aid funding and a new test which critics have warned could mean spending never returns to its target of 0.7% of gross national income.

Twenty four Tories, including former prime minister Theresa May and five other ex-cabinet ministers, condemned the decision – saying it would cost lives.

All six Scottish Tory MPs backed Mr Johnson’s plan.

The party’s former leader Ruth Davidson blasted the move, posting on social media: “For colleagues’ who stood on manifesto after manifesto committed to this, it’s a bloody disgrace.”

Attempting to justify the move, the prime minister 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.”

But Mrs May said the cut meant the Government “turns its back on the poorest in the world”.

“This isn’t about palaces for dictators and vanity projects, 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 prime minister said.

Former Prime Minister Theresa May

The commitment to 0.7% is written in law and restated in the 2019 Conservative manifesto, but was ditched as the Government attempted to save money in response to the economic carnage caused by coronavirus.

The 0.5% level means more than £10 billion will be spent on aid this year, around £4.4 billion less than if the original commitment had been kept.

Some would-be rebels were won over by a compromise put forward by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, which sets out tests for restoring the 0.7% level.

The funding will be returned to the promised level if the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) believes the UK is not borrowing to finance day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling.

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.

Under the tests, aid spending might not return to 0.7% before the next general election, scheduled for 2024.

The existing forecasts run to 2025/26 and in no year is the current budget forecast to be in surplus, while net debt is not forecast to start to fall until 2024/25.

Fury

The vote was met with a furious reaction from aid organisations.

Oxfam GB chief executive Danny Sriskandarajah said the vote was a “disaster for the world’s poorest people” and the Government “is putting politics above the lives of world’s most vulnerable communities”.

Romilly Greenhill, UK director of the anti-poverty One Campaign, said: “Today’s result is a needless retreat from the world stage, enforced by the Treasury, at the exact moment the UK should be showing leadership and stepping up to the greatest global crises in our lifetimes.

“It’s akin to cutting the RAF during the Battle of Britain.”

The SNP’s international development spokesman Chris Law took aim at the Scottish Tories over the vote.

He said: “Whether it’s slashing foreign aid or Universal Credit, Douglas Ross must explain why his Scottish Tory MPs have been so silent on devastating Tory cuts that will hit the poorest at home and abroad.”

Scottish Government external affairs secretary Angus Robertson added: “I am greatly disappointed – the Scottish Government continues to believe that the cutting of the overseas aid budget is a deplorable decision that is already hitting the world’s poorest and most marginal communities at a time of great need.

Angus Robertson

“Scotland remains fully committed to playing our part in tackling shared global challenges including poverty, injustice and inequality, and the Scottish Government is committed to increase the International Development Fund (IDF) by 50% to £15 million.

“As the global pandemic continues, the UK Government should not be turning its back on the poorest. Rather this is precisely the moment when we should be living up to our core values.”

The Scottish Tories were approached for comment.

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.