Yvette Cooper MP, the new Foreign Secretary

welcome to the new Foreign Secretary

We have a new Foreign Secretary – the UK’s sixth in five years! Yvette Cooper was appointed as Foreign Secretary on 5 September, replacing David Lammy. This is the first time that she has held a ministerial role in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and she has no previous experience of working on global poverty. We want to get in on the ground floor, explaining to her that the UK’s international development efforts are a powerful force for change.

what

help get international development higher up the Foreign Secretary’s agenda

who

the Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper MP

how

write to the Foreign Secretary to explain why international development should be a top priority

what’s happening?

It has been a tumultuous autumn for the Government, with the resignation of the Deputy Prime Minister and subsequent cabinet reshuffle. David Lammy, the former Foreign Secretary, was appointed as the new Deputy Prime Minister and Yvette Cooper was then moved from her role as Home Secretary to Foreign Secretary.

While she has some previous experience as shadow Foreign Secretary, that was at a time when the former Department for International Development (DFID) was a separate department from the Foreign Office, so she has never had responsibility for international development issues. That’s why we think now is a perfect moment to explain to the new Foreign Secretary why her department needs to prioritise reducing global poverty. Her predecessor David Lammy had been due to hold a conference in early 2026 to begin a conversation on the future of international development, but this looks unlikely to go ahead now, which makes it even more important that we ask the new Foreign Secretary to prioritise this conversation.

With the recent cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the budgets for global health and education programmes (which we currently expect to be finalised by the end of the year), it’s time to start a conversation about doing things differently. We know the power that genuine and impassioned grassroots advocacy can have in focusing attention on the needs of the world’s poorest and most marginalised communities. We should encourage the FCDO to adopt a fresh approach to international development, one which puts power directly back in the hands of those communities.

what does effective ‘international development’ look like?

International development programmes are not only about economic growth, but should aim to bring about a more just and equal global community, which allows every individual, wherever they are born or live, to lead a healthy, happy and fulfilled life. The UK’s approach to international development should be assessed against this standard, in order to focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, to put power in the hands of communities over their own lives, and to eliminate inequality.

As well as ‘aid’ (Official Development Assistance or ODA), any thorough assessment of the international development system must also take into account non-ODA financial flows, which are many times larger than total global ODA contribution. These include loans, military assistance, humanitarian relief, trade, and climate change funding.

All development programmes must put the recipients at the core of their design, operation and management. Communities should be actively involved in shaping the interventions that they receive, with a focus on under-represented groups, marginalised communities and children. Programmes must challenge the pervasive power dynamics that produce inequalities between people, communities and countries.

The consequences of climate change are felt most acutely in the poorest parts of the world, where the infrastructure to cope is the weakest. Development programmes should place a high priority on environmental impacts, using sustainable energy, water and food resources.

what campaigners have already accomplished on development issues

Results grassroots campaigners have unmatchable experience in advocating for the issues they are passionate about. Our recent campaigns are a testament to that. Whether it’s education, debt and development financing, the Global Fund, or the return to 0.7%, we regularly ensure that the Government is engaging seriously in the issues we care about.

We have regularly had feedback from FCDO civil servants and MPs that grassroots action is one of the most effective ways to influence government policy, such as with the Gavi replenishment in June this year.

take action!

Please write to the new Foreign Secretary to ensure that she prioritises international development in her new portfolio. There are many successes that she could immediately build on; for example, she was part of the Labour Government that first created DFID in 1997 and helped to set up Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB and Malaria in the early 2000s.

For decades, the UK has had a high reputation as an international development partner, but this is currently at risk. Earlier this year, with your help, we managed to secure a better-than-expected pledge to Gavi, helping protect millions more children from vaccine-preventable diseases. We should also call for her to reinstate efforts to meet the international target of spending 0.7% of our Gross National Income on international development assistance, to show that this Government is still committed to eliminating poverty around the world.

We want to make sure that the first letters the Foreign Secretary receives are not only about foreign diplomacy, but also about her department’s responsibilities to help end global poverty. Please explain to her why you care about ending global poverty.

Write to: The Foreign Secretary, Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper MP, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH.

Email [email protected]

Need some help? Use our guide to writing an effective letter to a Member of Parliament.

take action!

WRITE to the new Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP

REMIND the Government that it must prioritise international development

EXPLAIN why you are passionate about ending global poverty

CALL FOR an immediate return to the 0.7% ODA target and a people-centred approach to poverty reduction

I took action!

we’re here to support you!

If you have any questions or need support or advice in writing your letter, please reach out to us! You can contact Naveed Chaudhri, Head of Campaigns, at [email protected] or Vinny Wooding, our Parliamentary Advocacy Manager, at [email protected].

Campaigning success: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Not three months ago, and due in part to the persistent campaigning of Results grassroots volunteers, the UK Government announced a better-than-expected pledge for Gavi replenishment. Throughout the campaign, it looked as though the Government might make a low pledge compared to what it had given in previous replenishment cycles.

Our advocacy helped bring the Government pledge up from an estimated £1 billion to £1.25 billion – an astounding result given the squeeze on the FCDO budget. That pledge will help Gavi in its mission to protect up to 500 million children between 2026 to 2030 and save up to 8 million more lives.

Image: A mother holds her child clutching a vaccination card outside in Bangladesh.

Credit: Simprints /2023/ Ashraful Arefin