Tories promise to match 0.7 per cent aid target
The Conservative party has committed itself to spending 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income on development by 2013.
Alan Duncan, the party’s international development spokesman, said that if he were in charge of the Department for International Development (DfID) after the next election, its budget would increase significantly.
The announcement comes after criticism of the Conservative Party for backing aid promises made by the Government to the tsunami hit countries, whilst their existing plans envisaged a freeze on aid spending. Mr Duncan though told reporters that the decision on the spending commitments for the DfID had been “agreed internally” before the Christmas parliamentary recess.
Today Mr Duncan said development spending under a Tory government would rise from £4.5 billion in 2005/06 to £5 billion in 2006/07 and £5.3 billion in 2007/08.
The spending commitment is in line with the target set by the United Nations and follows a keynote speech on development by Gordon Brown earlier today.
“We will increase spending on aid,” Mr Duncan said. “And by applying Conservative principles to the way this money is spent, we will make it more effective.”
“I can confirm that ours are the same figures as those currently included in Labour’s spending plans for the equivalent 3 years. Since our plans will be set within the context of a much tougher control of overall spending than Labour’s, this commitment forcefully underlines the high priority Conservatives attach to the elimination of global poverty.”
In terms of international development principles, he said: “We believe in constructive policies of freer and fairer trade, support for poor countries’ trade negotiations, faster and deeper debt relief and practical co-operation with NGOs”.
Further details of the Conservatives international poverty reduction strategy will be released by Oliver Letwin on January 11th.
Speaking in Edinburgh earlier today, Mr Brown unveiled a “Marshall Plan” for the developing world that he predicted would make a “real change” to the lives of people in the world’s poorest countries.
