LONDON: British international development minister Anneliese Dodds resigned on Friday in a surprise move triggered by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to slash the foreign aid budget in order to boost defense spending. Dodds’ resignation comes a day after Starmer enjoyed one of the most successful days of his premiership in his meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House, where they discussed a trade deal and the war in Ukraine.

Days before, in a signal to Trump that Britain was prepared to make sacrifices to boost Europe’s security, Starmer raised the defense budget, saying he would fund the increase by cutting the overseas development budget from 0.5 percent of GDP to 0.3 percent. The decision stunned humanitarian charities, who warned it would tarnish British influence abroad and have a devastating impact on those they support. The government on Friday appointed Jenny Chapman, who sits in the upper house of parliament, as minister for international development to replace Dodds.

Dodds said in a resignation letter to Starmer that the depth of the cuts would make it impossible to maintain Britain’s development priorities, including in war-torn Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine. “Ultimately, these cuts will remove food and healthcare from desperate people - deeply harming the UK’s reputation,” she wrote in the letter posted on X.

Dodds said she had decided to go before the prime minister’s trip to Washington but held off making the announcement to avoid overshadowing it. “I know you have been clear that you are not ideologically opposed to international development. But the reality is that this decision is already being portrayed as following in President Trump’s slipstream of cuts to USAID,” she said, referring to the US decision to pause all foreign development assistance. — Reuters

National security ‘first’

Starmer responded in a letter published by his office, thanking Dodds for her work but standing by his decision. “The decision I have taken on the impact on ODA (Official Development Assistance) was a difficult and painful decision and not one I take lightly. We will do everything we can to return to a world where that is not the case and to rebuild a capability on development,” he wrote. “However, protecting our national security must always be the first duty of any government.”

Britain is the fifth largest international aid donor, giving over $19 billion in 2023, according to OECD data. The United States tops the ranking, followed by Germany, European Union institutions and Japan. The international development minister’s brief includes oversight of UK humanitarian programs all over the world, from providing food, water and shelter to thousands fleeing conflict in Sudan to a girls’ education program in Pakistan.

Dodds, 46, told Starmer in the letter she recognized the need to boost defense spending but was disappointed that the aid budget had absorbed the “entire burden” of the decision. Dodds had worked closely with Starmer since he was appointed as Labour Party leader five years ago. She served as his chief spokesperson on the economy for over a year until she was moved out of the role in 2021 over a perceived failure to effectively communicate the party’s vision. — Reuters