Foreign aid is once again at the centre of political debate in the United Kingdom as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to cut funding divides opinion.
Mr Johnson could see his plan to cut foreign aid scuppered by a vote in the House of Commons. The Government intends to "temporarily" reduce spending of national income on international development from 0.7 percent to 0.5 percent.
However, the Conservative Party is split on the issue, with former Prime Minister Theresa May and other Tory MPs aiming to ensure funding is protected with amendments to the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) Bill.
In the British "House of Commons" Theresa May, the Conservative former prime minister, has condemned Boris Johnson's cuts to the aid budget.
She said she was opposed to the cuts for three reason.
First, like all Conservative MPs, she stood on a manifesto saying the party was “proudly” committed to maintaining the target of spending 0.7% of national income on aid. She said she accepted that the Covid pandemic had hit government finances. But ministers are saying the economy will bounce back, she said.
Second, she said she was particularly committed to tackling modern slavery, and she said the cuts would reduce funding for the global fund to tackle modern slavery by 80%. One impact of that would be to cut the money available to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children, she said.
And, third, she said the cuts would damage the UK’s standing in the world.
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