UK lawmakers vote to back contentious foreign aid cut
Associated PressLONDON — British lawmakers voted on Tuesday to support a contentious cut to the U.K.’s foreign aid budget, a move that has slashed billions from programs helping some of the world’s poorest people. Johnson’s government announced in November that it would cut the share of national income set aside for foreign aid from 0.7% to 0.5%, citing the blow to Britain’s economy from the coronavirus pandemic. He said the reduction, which amounts to about 4 billion pounds this year, is temporary and aid would be restored to 0.7% of national income “as soon as circumstances allow.” Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, said Britain is the only member of the Group of Seven wealthy nations club that is cutting its aid budget. Conservative former Prime Minister David Cameron called the spending cut “a grave mistake.” Conservative legislator Andrew Mitchell, a former international development secretary, said it had left “an unpleasant odor wafting out from under my party’s front door.” May, Johnson’s predecessor as prime minister, said she would rebel against her party on a major vote for the first time in 25 years.
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