Plaid Cymru leader condemns UK Government’s decision to cut international aid spending

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS says ‘offering people a lifeline in some of the most destitute conditions on earth is critical.’

The leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, has criticised the Prime Minister’s decision to shrink the UK’s international aid budget at a time where ‘conflict, climate change, and extreme poverty become increasingly interconnected.’

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister announced that the UK’s international aid budget will fall from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP in 2027, in favour of a 0.2% of GDP increase in defence spending. This decision comes in the face of an anticipated shift in United States foreign policy under the leadership of President Trump.

The decision taken by the Prime Minister to move the UK’s spending further away from the 0.7% target set by the United Nations General Assembly – a figure the 2024 Labour Party manifesto also committed to restoring – has been met with criticism by key figures from across the political spectrum and campaigners.

Ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to the US on Wednesday to meet with President Trump, the leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, said:

“It is no surprise that the PM’s short-sighted decision to shrink the international aid budget has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum, including his own party.

“It is one thing to look at defence spending as the international context changes, but as conflict, climate change, and extreme poverty become increasingly interconnected, offering people a lifeline in some of the most destitute conditions on earth is critical.

“Collective action of this kind can help promote peace internationally.

“First Trump bows to Putin, now Starmer bows to Trump. This dangerous domino effect will make the world even more unstable and we have a moral duty to condemn it.”