The UK went to the polls last week with Keir Starmer, as widely predicted, now installed as prime minister and the Labour party in power for the first time in 14 years. This blog asks, will this bring a change to policies on aid and development in Africa, and what should the priorities be?
Although many are making comparisons with the big Labour majority of 1997 when Tony Blair swept to power, today is a very different context. There will not be a new, high-profile commitment from the UK government to development; no new aid department; no global push to reduce poverty and debt and probably very little extra money. The heady days of the establishment of DFID (the Department for International Development) led by Clare Short are long gone.
The UK has lost its influence in international development circles through long years of neglect, the merging of DFID with the Foreign Office and the dropping of its commitment to the 0.7% of GDP aid target. Outside the European Union thanks to Brexit and with a shaky relationship with the US (likely getting worse in November), the UK’s once considerable soft power around aid and development has declined significantly.
This article is from Zimbabweland, a blog written by IDS Research Fellow Ian Scoones. Zimbabweland focuses on issues related to rural livelihoods and land reform in Zimbabwe.
