LABOUR must “give urgent reassurance” to more than 1000 Scottish workers that their jobs are safe amid UK Government cuts to the international aid budget, the SNP have said.
It comes as the party’s leader at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, urged the Labour Government to give the Commons a vote on what he called the “drastic” decision to cut aid spending by 40% – from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP.
The Prime Minister has defended the decision by arguing that the defence budget must be increased from 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% given the military threat from Russia.
MP Chris Law, the SNP’s international development spokesperson at Westminster, raised fears of the potential impact of the cuts on civil service jobs in Scotland.
He called for Labour to “give urgent reassurance to the 1500 members of [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] staff based in East Kilbride who previously worked for the Department for International Development that their jobs will continue to be protected, in light of these additional cuts”.
The East Kilbride office was originally part of the Department for International Development, before it was merged with the Foreign Office in 2020 to form the FCDO.
Law added: “Just last year the Labour Government were promising to raise aid spending back to the 0.7% target as soon as the fiscal circumstances allow – they need to now make clear to the wider aid sector if they have abandoned this promise.”
The Tories cut the aid budget from 0.7% of GDP to 0.5% in a move which Starmer argued against and in the Labour 2024 manifesto pledged to eventually reverse.
This point was made by the now-former foreign development minister Anneliese Dodds, who resigned from Starmer’s government on Friday over the aid cut.
“The effect will be far greater than presented,” Dodds wrote. “The cut will also likely lead to a UK pull-out from numerous African, Caribbean and Western Balkan nations – at a time when Russia has been aggressively increasing its global presence.
It is with sadness that I have had to tender my resignation as Minister for International Development and for Women and Equalities. While I disagree with the ODA decision, I continue to support the government and its determination to deliver the change our country needs. pic.twitter.com/44sCrX2p8z
— Anneliese Dodds (@AnnelieseDodds) February 28, 2025
“It will likely lead to withdrawal from regional banks and a reduced commitment to the World Bank; the UK being shut out of numerous multilateral bodies; and a reduced voice for the UK in the G7, G20 and in climate negotiations. All this while China is seeking to rewrite global rules.”
Flynn pointed to Dodds’s warnings on Russia and China, saying: "Keir Starmer's wreckless plans to slash UK international aid are strategically damaging, immoral, and yet another broken Labour Party manifesto pledge.
"MPs must be given a vote for such a drastic and harmful step, which rips up decades of vital work, will plunge some of the world's poorest people further into desperation and may cost lives.
"Crucially, at a time when Russia, and others, are seeking to expand their influence across the globe it is deeply shortsighted, and strategically inept, for the Labour Government to withdraw our engagement in key regions, which will open the door to others to advance their interests at our expense.
"These Labour Party cuts are a betrayal of our values, the world's poorest and the promises made to voters at the election – and they could have very serious long-term consequences for our security, prosperity and global influence at a time when it has never been more important.
"The Prime Minister must give MPs the chance to vote on these cuts.”
Analysis by Save the Children has found that Labour’s aid cut will see the lowest amount of funding being spent overseas since records began in 1979, with around a third of the budget being spent in the UK.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie called on Starmer to listen to the words in Dodds’s resignation.
“The stakes are high and there are people who will die as a result of these cuts,” Harvie said.
“I hope that Keir Starmer will listen to her and to the many aid organisations who have condemned these cuts.
“Instead of being a friend to people and nations destroyed by famine and war, the Prime Minister is following in the footsteps of Donald Trump while showing a total disregard for people in need of support.
“These cuts will take support away from some of the world’s most marginalised people. It is a cynical and cruel decision that completely undermines any claims that the UK Government has to be a force for good on the world stage.”
Responding to Dodds, the Prime Minister said he wanted to “return to a world” where foreign aid was increased but added: “However, protecting our national security must always be the first duty of any government and I will always act in the best interests of the British people.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “The FCDO remains committed to a long-term presence in Scotland.”
The UK Government was also asked for a response to Flynn's calls for a vote on the aid budget cut.
