Last year the UK became the (hopefully) first of the G7 nations to achieve the UN target of giving 0.7% of national income as overseas development aid. Reaching the target within the parliament was the policy of all three main parties at the 2010 general election. It was promised in the Coalition Agreement (p.22 .pdf) which put the reason for giving aid quite simply:
The Government believes that even in these difficult economic times, the UK has a moral responsibility to help the poorest people in the world.
The commitment to reach the target by 2013 in the Coalition Agreement has been reached but there is, at the moment, no obligation for future governments to stick to it. The hard right has been making the "charity begins at home" moans you could expect:
The ring fencing of aid spending, which has steadily risen under the Coalition, has been widely criticized by the Tory right.
They argue it should not be given special treatment when austerity measures are hitting areas such as policing, defence and local government.
The pressure from the UKIP-inclined far right in his own party led the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to go back on the commitment in the Coalition Agreement to enshrine the ring-fencing of the 0.7% into law by not including the measure in the Queen's Speech. That is the program of legislation for the upcoming legislative year read out by the monarch at the formal State Opening of Parliament.
Last year the right-wing Tory Peter Bone talked out a second attempt by a Labour MP, Mark Hendrick, to introduce a Private Member's Bill (PMB) to safeguard the 0.7% despite it having overwhelming support from all sides. The parliamentary time available for this was not enough to stop Bone droning on (no doubt telling everyone what Mrs Bone thought about it, his usual speech introduction) and exhaust the limited time available.
Last month the Liberal Democrat ex-minister Michael Moore came second in the ballot for priority consideration of PMBs. He has now announced that he will be introducing a new bill to enshrine the 0.7%. This means the Bill has a strong chance of becoming law with government backing. The Conservative front bench will support it but its backbench members will be free to oppose it. The bill should have its formal first reading this week and will be considered in detail, the "Second Reading" in September. Mrs Bone's husband has already started his diatribe:
Last night Mr Bone said: “I’m not going to be told by the party how to vote on a private member’s bill. That is absurd.”
Michael Moore is optimistic,
writing yesterday:
The Coalition’s priorities over the past four years may have worked against having the Government time necessary for the Bill, but I am delighted that my good fortune in the Private Member’s Bill ballot allows us the opportunity to provide the time. Since I intend to build on the work of people in our party and in the Conservatives and Labour, I hope the consensus will be maintained and the Bill will pass. For my part, I will work across the parties inside Parliament and with interested people outside to make that happen.
UK aid is making a huge contribution to people across the world, but at a time when the global economy remains weak and the gap between rich and poor remains appallingly wide, the need for a strong British commitment to development aid is more important than ever.
We are the first G7 country to reach the UN 0.7% target, but rather than rest on our laurels we should continue to show leadership to other wealthy countries by making it a lasting commitment.
Much is written on here about the disparity in the USA between the middle class and the "1%". Overseas development aid is aimed at improving the lives of those in developing countries who often have less than 1% of the median US household income.