UK DEVELOPMENT MINISTER ANNELIESE DODDS QUITS – Dodds quit in resistance to Starmer’s cut in Foreign Aid

Development Minister Anneliese Dodds quit on Friday following Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to increase the UK’s defence spending by cutting the foreign aid budget.

Dodds, who stated in her resignation letter that there were “no easy paths” to increasing defence spending, disagreed with the decision to cut overseas aid, which she warned would lead to China and Russia filling the vacuum.

Dodds, who acknowledged the need to boost defence spending, expressed her disappointment that the aid budget had absorbed the “entire burden” of the decision.

On Tuesday, Starmer said the government would raise U.K. defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027 from the current 2.3%, saying Europe is in a new era of insecurity that requires a “generational response.”

Starmer responded in a letter published by his office. In it, he thanked Dodds for her work and reiterated his commitment to upholding but standing by his decision.

Starmer, who says the decision was a difficult one, also stated that the UK will do everything to rebuild a capability on development.

Baroness Chapman of Darlington has been appointed the new minister for international development