International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds has resigned following Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to cut the foreign aid budget.
In her resignation letter, Dodds criticized the recently announced reductions to international aid, which will fund increased defense spending. She warned the cuts would “remove food and healthcare from desperate people – deeply harming the UK’s reputation.”
Dodds revealed she deliberately delayed her resignation until after Starmer met with President Trump, stating it was “imperative that you had a united cabinet behind you as you set off for Washington.”
The minister expressed “sadness” about resigning and acknowledged that Starmer was not “ideologically opposed” to international development.
Prior to his Washington visit, Starmer announced plans to reduce aid funding from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% by 2027, redirecting those resources toward defense spending. Defending this decision, the prime minister stated it was “not a decision I wanted to make” but added there was “no driver of migration and poverty like conflict.”
Dodds warned in her resignation letter that the aid reduction would “likely lead to a UK pull-out from numerous African, Caribbean and Western Balkan nations – at a time when Russia has been aggressively increasing its global presence.”
She further cautioned about potential consequences: “It will likely lead to withdrawal from regional banks and a reduced commitment to the World Bank; the UK being shut out of numerous multilateral bodies; and a reduced voice for the UK in the G7, G20 and in climate negotiations.”
While Dodds acknowledged that the “post-war global order had come crashing down” and supported increased defense spending, she expressed disappointment with Starmer’s approach. “I stood ready to work with you to deliver that increased spending, knowing some might well have had to come from ODA [overseas development assistance]. I also expected we would collectively discuss our fiscal rules and approach to taxation, as other nations are doing.”
Instead, Dodds criticized the prime minister for deciding to let overseas development assistance “absorb the entire burden.”
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