Scrapping DfID amid a global crisis is wrong. The Co-op Party will fight it

The Department for International Development, set up under the last Labour government to co-ordinate international aid and development, has been consistently rated as the most effective and transparent government department for delivering value for money. It ranks in the top three aid departments of any country worldwide, according to the Transparency Index. The independent aid auditors ICAI gave DfID a transparency and accountability score of 83/100 – compared to just 43/100 for the FCO.

But earlier this year, the government signalled its intention to merge DfID into the Foreign Office – effectively abolishing DfID after two decades. Within that time, it has lifted millions out of poverty, backed education and vaccination schemes across the world, and provided relief to those in the middle of vicious conflicts. Even with a commitment to maintaining its aid budget at current levels, to transfer that budget from a more efficient institution to a less efficient one will mean a real-terms cut in the amount of good that can be done with the aid available.

DfID is the jewel in the crown of Britain’s soft power abroad, and its independence from the Foreign Office provides a space where its aid can be received in good faith – whatever the diplomatic stance of the country whose residents receive it. That independence means there are dedicated ministers around the cabinet table, not to mention high-ranking civil servants, dedicated to ensuring that poverty reduction, advancing causes such as Fairtrade, and life-saving humanitarian aid are always in focus. When the government meets to discuss a new global crisis, or ahead of a vital summit of world leaders, it is the Secretary of State for International Development who can push for these vital issues to be on the agenda.

We find ourselves in one of these global crises right now – and just at the point when a department with two decades of institutional memory could be leading the world in its response to coronavirus, it finds itself sidelined. To effectively abolish the department at this stage risks sending a clear signal to the world that Britain is withdrawing, at least in intent, from its commitments to helping the most vulnerable.

Labour and the Co-operative Party remain committed to a well-funded, independent DfID, and hundreds of people have already taken up our call, led by Shadow International Development Secretary Preet Kaur Gill, to write to their MPs and encourage the government to change direction. Join us today and help us keep Britain at the top of the league table for international development.