Christian Aid: Anneliese Dodds is right to resign over UK's 'brutal aid cuts'

Anneliese Dodds

The International Development Minister, Anneliese Dodds has resigned over government cuts to the aid budget.

In a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the Oxford East MP said the cuts to international aid, which were announced earlier this week, to fund an increase in defence spending, would "remove food and healthcare from desperate people - deeply harming the UK's reputation."

She said she had delayed her resignation until after his meeting with President Trump, saying it was "imperative that you had a united cabinet behind you as you set off for Washington."

Dodd said that while Starmer had been clear he was not "ideologically opposed" to international development, the cuts were "being portrayed as following in President Trump's slipstream of cuts to USAID."

Christian Aid has supported Anneliese Dodds' decision to resign.

Patrick Watt, Christian Aid CEO, said: "Christian Aid welcomes the strong stand that the now former Development Minister Anneliese Dodds has taken today against this week's brutal aid cuts.

"Dodds has rightly recognised that these cuts will remove food and healthcare from desperate people, will likely lead to a total pull out from many of the world's poorest countries, and will deeply harm the UK's reputation and influence globally.

"We thank Anneliese Dodds for her hard work and commitment in this brief and for the stance she has taken today and we look forward to working with her on the backbenches."

LINKS

The following letter to the PM and Treasury protesting the cuts was signed by 138 CEOs:
www.bond.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Aid-budget-cuts-PM-and-TreasuryFINAL.pdf

CAFOD Action: Tell your MP that you oppose the aid cuts: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/51816