The UK is abandoning its global commitments - and history will remember its inaction
Last year, we watched with cautious hope as the newly elected Labour government stepped in and committed to restoring our international aid spending from 0.5 percent to 0.7 percent of Gross National Income (GNI) "when the time was right".
It seemed like a return to responsibility for the UK. We were optimistic that after a decade of hacking away at humanitarian funding, Keir Starmer's government would deliver on its promise and uphold its moral imperative to support millions around the world.
But today, that commitment lies in ruins, and the consequences are dire for the world's most vulnerable.
On Friday, Starmer's development minister Annaliese Dodds resigned over the aid cuts, saying they would seriously impact aid work in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine.
The UK's reckless decision to slash its foreign aid spending from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent of GNI will deny life-saving assistance to tens of millions globally.
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Every one of these people, facing extreme poverty, disease, and humanitarian crises, is dependent on international aid for survival.
A heartbreaking 362 million men, women, and children in need of humanitarian assistance are being failed by global powers
This drastic cut is a betrayal of our longstanding role as a leader in development and sends a chilling signal about the government's shifting priorities.
At the same time, the UK has announced plans to increase its defence spending to 2.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2027, further exposing its misplaced priorities. Billions that could be used to provide life-saving aid are being diverted to military expansion.
By choosing short-term gains over global stability, the UK is destabilising vulnerable regions, fuelling global unrest, and deepening the suffering of millions.
The consequences of these budget cuts will be felt for generations.
Dangerous trend
According to the UN, in 2015, 114 million people required humanitarian assistance. Today, that figure stands at approximately one in 22 people worldwide. That's a heartbreaking 362 million men, women, and children failed by global powers.
The UK's Department for International Development (DFID), once the gold standard in overseas aid, was gutted in 2020 and merged with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). This restructuring diluted the UK's humanitarian focus, prioritising political and diplomatic interests over life-saving assistance.
The international development restructuring diluted the UK's humanitarian focus, prioritising political and diplomatic interests over life-saving assistance
The result? A slow but steady retreat from the international stage at a time when strong leadership is needed more than ever. And now, the inevitable consequences of half-measures and backpedalling have taken effect: our country is losing its reputation on the global stage.
The UK's retreat is part of a larger, dangerous global trend.
The United States, historically a key player in humanitarian efforts, has acted in a similar fashion - on a far greater and more consequential scale.
Under the Trump administration, funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was frozen, slashed, and politicised. Without intervention, this pattern of retreat will likely spread across an increasingly right-wing western world.
Across conflict zones, aid workers are not merely caught in the crossfire; they are the targets. In Gaza and Sudan, humanitarian workers have been attacked, obstructed, and, in many cases, killed.
Moral decline
Since 7 October, Israel has systematically criminalised aid operations, blocked life-saving deliveries, and waged a relentless campaign against those providing relief. The statistics are chilling: over 300 aid workers have been killed in Gaza alone as a direct result of Israeli aggression.
Meanwhile, western governments, including the UK, have been weak at best - and potentially complicit. Faced with mounting evidence of humanitarian violations, they have failed to take meaningful action.
There should be no misapprehension: they possess the tools - sanctions, diplomatic pressure, international legal mechanisms - but have chosen not to wield them. Their silence is an endorsement of suffering.
Just weeks ago, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy was quick to condemn the US for its cuts to USAID, warning that such reductions would damage American soft power and be a "strategic mistake".
This double standard exposes not only a failure of leadership but a troubling moral decline. We are watching the UK government lose its spine at a time when global stability depends on decisive action.
The UK has an opportunity to reclaim its role as a global humanitarian leader but is choosing, disappointingly, not to take it.
Our history, expertise, and reputation should be leveraged to push for renewed commitments to international aid.
While our government lags behind, British humanitarians, advocates, and campaigners continue to lead the charge, mobilising efforts to respond to crises worldwide. It is time for our politicians to match their courage.
History will remember what we did in this moment. Let it not remember our silence.
We stand at a crossroads. Either we recommit to the values that once defined us - compassion, solidarity, and responsibility - or we accept our place in the moral collapse of the international community.
The choice is ours, but the consequences will be borne by the world's most vulnerable.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
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