By Vinny Wooding and Aqsa Shah
On Sunday 13 October, the Labour Government marked 100 days in office. It was President Franklin Roosevelt who first proposed the notion that the first hundred days of a new government are of particular importance. This early period is often seen as an opportunity to gauge what the Government’s priorities and potential impact will be.
Due to the timing of this year’s general election, the first hundred days have been unusual, with Parliament in recess for 9 of the last 14 weeks. With many questions still unanswered and grand narratives yet to be written, we expect more information when the Chancellor delivers the Budget on 30 October.
That being said, we can still identify some positives and negatives for the international development sector in this new Government’s first 100 days.
What has gone well?
Let’s start with the positives: the new Minister for Development,The Rt. Hon. Anneliese Dodds MP, has spent much of the summer travelling internationally, seeing first-hand the UK’s ongoing work in the development sector. The Government has instituted plans to review the International Development Strategy, which underscores the development work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). In the short time that Parliament has been in session, Anneliese Dodds has addressed key issues, including the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, through Urgent Questions and Statements. We have been very encouraged to see many new MPs participating in debates and holding the Government accountable for its development commitments.
The new Government has also been very active on the international stage. The UK was well-represented at the United Nations General Assembly, the European Political Community Summit and NATO, highlighting the centrality of multilateralism to solving complex and ongoing global crises. It is promising that, in its first 100 days, the new Government appears to be setting a different, more engaged course for the UK on the international stage.
What has not gone well?
Unfortunately, several issues remain insufficiently addressed by the Government in its first hundred days. Firstly, while the Minister for Development still attends Cabinet, the hierarchy of the FCDO – led by the Foreign Secretary – indicates that international development is still viewed primarily as a function of foreign policy. While this on its own might not be a sufficient indication of the Government’s attitude, the Minister for Development also manages another portfolio: Women and Equalities. It is highly unusual for a Minister to hold two vastly different portfolios simultaneously. Together, these factors imply that the Government is not prioritising the development portfolio as it should.
Secondly, the Government has publicly reaffirmed that it will not increase Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding back to the 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) benchmark enshrined in UK law, until domestic economic conditions improve. This policy, started by the previous Government, has severely restricted the UK’s international development programmes, with money being redirected to cover the domestic costs of housing asylum seekers, for example. This skirts the edges of international rules regarding legitimate ODA spending. In 2023, the UK spent £3.7 billion of ODA funding on in-country refugee costs, up from £600 million in 2022. This equates to roughly 27% of the UK’s ODA budget being spent in the UK itself – a wholly unacceptable situation. Alongside many international development NGOs, Results is very clear about the need to restore ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI as soon as possible.
The new Government has also become bogged down in the daily realities of running the country; ‘winning was easy, young man. Governing’s harder’ as George Washington tells us in ‘Hamilton’. The Government announced early in its term that it would hold a Budget at the end of October, but this has muted serious policy conversations by creating a stopgap at which all those plans could be upended. Whilst this is not uncommon as we approach a major fiscal event, the summer recess and unusually timed election have further limited opportunities for the Government to announce new policy. As such, a political vacuum has emerged; with no significant policy announcements left to fill the empty space, the media’s attention has turned to expenses and internal Labour Party politics. If the new Government wants to regain momentum, it must start presenting policies that align with its manifesto mission of national change. We are all waiting.
The decline in the UK’s international development spending will have major ramifications for global health multilateral organisations entering their replenishment periods. Next year, the Global Fund and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will host their respective replenishment conferences – key moments at which international donors, including nation states and the private sector, pledge funds to address pressing global health concerns. The UK has typically been a major donor to both organisations and has played a key role in establishing them both in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, recent cuts to contributions have deterred other major donors from contributing. Given the recent COVID-19 outbreak, one would expect governments around the world to prioritise global health to prevent a repeat of the pandemic.Â
The bleak ODA outlook also puts global education at risk of further cuts, on top of an already decimated budget. ODA for education has declined drastically over the past decade, dropping from 13.5% of ODA in 2013 to just 3.5% in 2023. If current trends continue, the UK risks deepening rifts with its partners, worsening the gap in financing for global education, and heightening inequality in education around the world.
Conclusion
Overall, the first 100 days of the new Labour Government have been a mixed bag. The looming Budget at the end of October has constrained policy discussions as we await clarity on what the Government can and cannot afford. The Government has significant work ahead to demonstrate to those who are passionate about social justice and poverty eradication that they are on their side. This Government’s first 100 days have been unlike any in recent memory because of when the election fell; as we move into the remaining years of their term, we wait to see how the self-professed ‘party of internationalism’ will project its values on the global stage.