A SENIOR Minister has quit her post over Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to slash aid money to help pay for a hike to defence spending.
Anneliese Dodds, who attended Cabinet, claims that cutting back on the development money will bolster Russia.
Anneliese Dodds has quit her post[/caption]
The Prime Minister said Britain has to ‘fight for peace’ earlier this week[/caption]
Starmer increased military spending by £6billion a year on Monday, saying Britain has to “fight for peace”.
Ms Dodds wrote to the Prime Minister saying she firmly disagrees with the decision to bring down the cash from 0.5 per cent to just 0.3 per cent.
Posting her resignation letter on social media, Ms Dodds wrote: “It is with sadness that I have had to tender my resignation as minister for international development and for women and equalities.
“While I disagree with the ODA decision, I continue to support the Government and its determination to deliver the change our country needs.”
She revealed she had been ready to cut the aid budget to pay for the PM’s plan to increase defence spending in 2027 to 2.5 per cent.
She added: “Undoubtedly the postwar global order has come crashing down. I believe that we must increase spending on defence as a result; and know that there are no easy paths to doing so.
“I stood ready to work with you to deliver that increased spending, knowing some might well have had to come from overseas development assistance [ODA].
“I also expected we would collectively discuss our fiscal rules and approach to taxation, as other nations are doing.
“Even 3% may only be the start, and it will be impossible to raise the substantial resources needed just through tactical cuts to public spending.
“These are unprecedented times, when strategic decisions for the sake of our country’s security cannot be ducked.”
Save the Children Chief Executive Moazzam Malik said her resination highlights the “wide coalition” against the government’s decision.
Earlier this week, Sir Keir Starmer said it wasn’t a decision that he took lightly as a Labour Prime Minister.
The PM laid out a plan to raise the military budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP within two years – and then to 3 per cent after the next election.
He said: “I’ve taken a difficult choice today because I believe in overseas development, and I know the impact of the decision that I’ve had to take today, and I do not take it lightly.
“It is not a decision that I, as a British Labour prime minister, would have wanted to take, but a decision that I must make in order to secure the security and defence of our country.”
The cash boost will add an additional £13bn a year to armed forces coffers from 2027, according to the PM.
But only £6 billion of that is actually new money – calculated as the difference between spending 2.3 per cent and 2.5 per cent of GDP.
Anneliese Dodds has quit her post[/caption]
