Nosheena Mobarik: If Labour cut international aid, Britain will be diminished as a force for good

Baroness Nosheena Mobarik is a former Member of European Parliament for Scotland and Chair of CBI Scotland, awarded a CBE in 2014 for Services to Business and Public Service. 

If reports are to be believed, the Government plans to make further cuts of over £2 billion to the UK’s international aid budget, which was already cut by around £4 billion 4 years ago.

A further cut would harm the millions of people around the world who rely on the UK’s development expertise and lifesaving support. It would do real damage to Britain’s reputation on the world stage.

Climate change, conflict, disease, and food insecurity – these are the great challenges of our time, and a tough economic inheritance is no excuse for inaction.

In 1945, in the aftermath of the war, and despite hardship and rationing at home, Clement Attlee’s government – supported by Winston Churchill and the Conservative party – understood the need to provide aid to Europe and beyond. The leaders of that generation knew better than any other, that what happened overseas affected the UK too.

In 2010 the Coalition government was determined to cut public spending, but David Cameron chose not to balance the books on the backs of the world’s poorest people. As difficult as it was, the development budget was protected and there are thousands of people alive today as a direct consequence of that decision.

It is simply not correct to claim that there is no money, or that any further cuts to the aid budget are the fault of the last government. If nearly £12 billion can be set aside for pay rises for public sector workers, then surely a sixth of that can be found for the world’s poorest people?

British leadership in development is not just about our values, and doing what is right. It is also about making the world a better place for all of us. Irregular migration to Europe cannot be understood without an understanding of the clear link between hunger, conflict, and climate change – crises that force so many to flee in pursuit of a better life.

Two years ago I visited the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan. Since the opening of the camp 10 years ago, there have been over 20,000 births recorded. For these children, life in the camp will be all they have known. This will be their world. Their wasted energy and potential is a loss for humanity. We should be doing all we can, alongside our international partners, to cultivate and support these people to ensure that they can return to their homes, go to school or university, and start businesses.

In many cases, those fleeing conflict have no choice but to seek refuge overseas. The challenges of irregular migration have all the hallmarks of a slow-burn crisis, with long-term drivers of migration, including conflicts, climate change, political instability, and economic disparities, threatening to make the scale of the problem worse.

The UK’s aid and development work is one important tool for tackling irregular migration and cutting the aid budget will only serve to harm these efforts. And to those who would rather it all be spent on defence, let us not forget the former US Marine General who famously told a Congressional hearing, ‘If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately.’

For as long as the world collectively fails to address the root causes of migration, desperate souls will seek refuge in Europe. For as long as viruses have no regard for national sovereignty, and millions of people overseas continue to lack access to basic healthcare, all of us will be at risk from future pandemics.

What we choose to do or not do overseas directly affects what happens at home. That is why international development must remain at the heart of UK foreign and defence policy, and not be cut to the bone due to public sector pay rises.

The UK cannot do everything, but we are not without means. With a seat on the UN Security Council, the world’s sixth largest economy, and as leading members of both NATO and the Commonwealth, our expertise, and our resources, have made a difference, and can make a difference still.

Britain is at its best when it acts as a global leader in development as well as in defence and diplomacy. All Conservatives should seriously question the damage Rachel Reeves threatens to do to the UK’s international prestige.

With a smart and effective aid budget, which leverages British expertise, the UK can transform lives and bring freedom, security, and prosperity to those who need it most.

This article was first published on ConHome.