Anneliese Dodds: Minister for International Development resigns over overseas aid cuts to fund defence

Her resignation follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement earlier this week that defence spending will rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with a goal of reaching 3% in the next Parliament. To finance this increase, overseas development assistance (ODA) will be reduced from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% by 2027.

In her resignation letter to Starmer, Dodds acknowledged the difficulty in securing defence funding but expressed her disagreement with the approach taken. “I believe that we must increase spending on defence as a result; and know that there are no easy paths to doing so,” she wrote. “I stood ready to work with you to deliver that increased spending, knowing some might well have had to come from ODA.”

However, she criticised the decision to make aid “absorb the entire burden” and warned that the cuts would impact UK support for Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine. She also cautioned that it could result in the UK being excluded from multilateral bodies.

Dodds formally announced her resignation in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “It is with sadness that I have had to tender my resignation as Minister for International Development and for Women and Equalities,” she wrote. “While I disagree with the ODA decision, I continue to support the Government and its determination to deliver the change our country needs.”

She explained that she delayed her resignation until after Starmer’s visit to Washington, where he met US President Donald Trump, who has been urging European nations to increase their defence spending.

Dodds also noted concerns that the Government’s move would be compared to Trump’s reductions to USAID. “But the reality is that this decision is already being portrayed as following in President Trump’s slipstream of cuts to USAID,” she wrote.

Despite her resignation, Dodds reaffirmed her support for Starmer’s leadership. “While we differ profoundly on this decision, I remain proud of all that you have achieved since I backed you to be leader of the Labour Party.”