The Global Poverty Promise campaign today asks people to support a new law that would commit the UK to spend 0.7% of national income on development assistance.
Davina McCall, Mariella Frostrup, Annie Lennox, Richard Wilson and Meera Syal were among the big names launching a new poverty campaign today, the fifth anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s Make Poverty History speech in Trafalgar Square.
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In a campaign video released today – shown for the first time at the Labour Campaign for International Development’s launch on Monday – people are invited to show their support for a new law that would commit the UK to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on development assistance. People can do this by signing up to the Global Poverty Promise. The video (see right) highlights just how small 0.7 per cent is – yet how much of a difference it will make to lives in the developing world. Mariella Frostrup said: |
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“Forty years ago the UK made a promise to the world’s poor – to spend just 0.7 per cent of our national income on helping poor countries develop. We now have a chance to make that promise a reality, not just for today but for future generations.
“GlobalPovertyPromise.com is our opportunity to show that we keep our promises, even during difficult times. Whether it’s helping Haiti through a disaster or participating in the long term development of Africa the British public has a proud tradition of looking out for those less fortunate, let’s keep it up.”
Five years ago Nelson Mandela’s speech in London ahead of the Gleneagles summit launched the Make Poverty History campaign; today the Department for International Development is publishing an update of the progress the UK has made against the targets set.
Labour has tripled the UK’s aid budget and is committed to spending 0.7% of the UK’s Gross National Income on aid from 2013, with the Overseas Development Bill which was introduced to Parliament last month, while the Conservatives have refused to say they would introduce such a law.
Aid groups are concerned that Tory plans for international development could mean large sums will be diverted from tackling poverty.
• Sign up to the Gobal Poverty Promise and show your support.
30 Responses to “Campaign launched to commit UK to spending 0.7% of income on development aid”
Anon E Mouse
Liz – You’re missing the point here. You call the Tories “Nasty” that’s fine.
But it’s pots and kettles and all it does is makes the Labour Party look less like the broad church it is supposed to be and more like it is under Brown.
Nasty is lying about David Cameron the week his disabled son died and sending out that Lyam Byrne to assure us it was “just a storm in a teacup”.
Now call me old fashioned Liz but that is REALLY nasty regardless of which party does it. And it was Labour that was that nasty – not the Tories.
Before 1997 we weren’t controlled in the way we are now with no protests allowed in London and innocent people beaten up and killed by the Met. We have also had thousands of new offences by this horrible lot so the prisons are full. ID cards, CCTV – it never ends.
Remember as well the reason for this article is Cameron stating he will stick to this spend – Labour hasn’t done that. Labour is the nasty party Liz unless you are telling me it’s right to hit the poorest in society with proportionally the highest taxes. Are you?
Finally you have no idea how it will be without that unelected control freak Brown at the helm but we do know how bad it is with him.
It’s over Liz, move on. Brown will be old news a few months from now…
David Taylor
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Kaveh Azarhoosh
RT @leftfootfwd: Campaign launched to commit Britain to spending 0.7% of income on development aid: http://is.gd/7CSRN
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Liz McShane
Anon – where do I start….?
Re The Met – you make them sound as if they have been on a major rampage. It was tragic that their actions re the G20 summit resulted in a death but I do think he police are much more accountable these days and that there is more transparency but that does not condone or excuse the loss of a life.
I admit that not all Tories are nasty – the patrician-style ones such as Ken Clarke etc are decent, humane people, but there is still a very strong Thatcherite vein running through their blood and all this cuddly- ‘let’s hug a hoodie’ stuff is a complete veneer and I think what really informs and drives the party. Take a look at what Toby Young wrote about him in his blog yesterday:
/blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100024959/100024959/
I agree that Labour/New Labour is /was not perfect but they did more to help the many rather than the few and that STILL is the raison d’etre and why I would say the vast majority of people join the party and actively campaign for it on a regular basis.
There is still room to debate policies such as ID cards – it’s still not a given (and by the way, something that I am not a fan of for various reasons – cost as well as civil liberty aspect).
I still think and am worried by your(potentially dangerous) obsession with Gordon – I really don’t think it’s healthy for you!
In the last few days, polls together with the fact that Chris Grayling doesn’t understand statistics, has shown that the election is still there to be won and the more that people such as Osborne, Grayling et al are tested they fall at the first hurdle.
I think if you asked people who benefitted from the minimum wage etc and people who didn’t lose their homes or jobs in the last 12-18 months, they would be very positive towards GB and his masterful handling of the economy in what has been a very turbulent and uncertain period.