Andrew Mitchell is the Shadow Foreign Secretary & former Deputy Foreign Secretary. He has been the MP for Sutton Coldfield since 2001.
From my lofty position firmly at the bottom of the ConHome shadow cabinet league table, I’d like to suggest that popularity is often a casualty of truth.
For a politician, saying what we think voters want to hear is easy. Saying what we think you need to hear, on the other hand, comes at a cost. As a proud Conservative, my support for international development has not won me plaudits with ConHome. But I make no apologies.
For years I have fought to debunk populist myths around foreign aid and development.
Refrains like “why are we funding India’s space programme!” or “why we are giving our money away to corrupt dictators!” are as tired as they are wrong. And those who buy into the false fantasy that the UK can solve our serious problems by shutting ourselves off from the rest of the world are equally deluded.
This isn’t about morality.
For me, helping people in need is important, yes, but not as important as defending our national interest. And if you believe that Conservative support for international development is the preserve of eccentric do-gooders, remember that only five MPs voted against the International Development Act which enshrined our 0.7 per cent commitment in law when it was introduced into the Commons in 2015.
Whether we like it or not, we are more connected than ever before, in a world that is also more dangerous than at any other time in my sixty-eight years.
The UK faces a massive immigration crisis which cannot be disaggregated from the myriad crises engulfing the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
War is a major driver of mass displacement, but so too is famine and economic breakdown. In Africa, the ripple effects of these challenges are intensely felt, as resources are ravaged, and livelihoods are lost. Meaning more instability, more insecurity and in turn, many more refugees being pushed further and further afield. Never let us forget the whole aim – the justification – for our international development programme is to build safer and more prosperous places over there, so people do not need to come over here.
The problems on our own borders must be seen in this context.
It is true that we need to stem the Channel crossings but reining in evil people-smugglers is like chasing a horse that has bolted. In many cases, it is too late. Stopping the boats addresses the symptom, not the cause. We must instead start at source. Long before migrants reach Calais. Before they cross the Mediterranean. While they are still close to home. We do this by alleviating the root causes of migration, helping people to thrive and prosper in their own countries.
As the old adage goes, the best cure is prevention.
What’s really needed is a massive ‘Marshall Plan’ for north Africa and the Sahel. A carrot and stick plan, involving the UK, EU and others with a direct interest too. Otherwise wait for hundreds of millions of feet to walk towards us.
This is international development.
Far from giving money away, it is an investment. I mean that literally. I have always said that every penny of our aid budget must be spent in the national interest. I wonder how many people realise that taxpayers’ money that has been invested through the private sector wing of the UK’s development programme turns a profit, which is then reinvested, helping to build economic infrastructure, create jobs and power growth in the developing world. An investment delivering a profit for our hard-pressed taxpayers.
Prosperity, which we know is generated by the private sector, is the overarching goal of development. Granted, traditional aid is a part of that endeavour, but humanitarian relief, vaccination and education programmes are foundational building blocks on the road to self-sufficiency, for which there can never be a substitute.
Prosperous societies are essential for the UK’s security. Poverty is a breeding ground for terrorism which feeds on the desperation of people.
The Global Terrorist Index 2024 shows that the epicentre of terrorism is the central Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for over half of all deaths from terrorism. Well, you might say, “this is Africa’s problem!” I say, I’m afraid not: it is our problem too.
Groups like Al-Shabaab in Somalia, ISIL in the Sahel and Boko Harem in northern Nigeria may not be making headline news, but they are a destabilising scourge in the territories they stalk, sowing fear, chaos and ultimately exodus. They serve as another ‘push’ factor, exporting refugees in their millions. But it gets even more complicated.
In the murky transnational underground, where dirty money channelled through western countries helps fund evil nihilists in Africa and elsewhere, few countries are immune to its impacts. The UK is no exception. Money laundering makes us more vulnerable to infiltration, more vulnerable to letting Bad Actors seep into our country and less secure as a result. Smashing the nexus between organised crime and terrorism is part of international development’s remit. The fight against dirty money is an integral part of the fight for global security, and I’m afraid Britain has questions to answer on failing to do enough to clamp down on this.
“Hang on,” I hear you say. “What about that space programme and those dictators? What about those affluent countries that receive our hard-earned cash?” Let me calm you down. This money is not a handout; it is used to fund collaborative projects on such areas as science and research, which accelerates the quest for medical and technological breakthroughs. Teaming up with world class scientists and innovators to discover cures for disease, or solutions for plastic waste, enhances us a nation. One of those girls getting an education through the Girls’ Education Challenge Fund, thanks to you, may discover the cure for cancer.
And we should not give any aid direct to governments. I put a stop to that practice when I became Secretary of State for International Development. For the best part of 14 years the UK has worked with trusted partners on the ground, ensuring the budget is fully accounted for and demonstrates value for money. So, the argument that UK taxpayers line the pockets of thieving despots is patently untrue.
I’m not claiming that international development policy and programmes are perfect. No area of public policy is.
But if it didn’t exist, we would need to invent it.
International development connects the dots between prosperity, security and migration across the world. It is a recognition that what happens over there, for good or ill, will repercuss over here.
We may not like it, but that’s the truth.
Andrew Mitchell is the Shadow Foreign Secretary & former Deputy Foreign Secretary. He has been the MP for Sutton Coldfield since 2001.
From my lofty position firmly at the bottom of the ConHome shadow cabinet league table, I’d like to suggest that popularity is often a casualty of truth.
For a politician, saying what we think voters want to hear is easy. Saying what we think you need to hear, on the other hand, comes at a cost. As a proud Conservative, my support for international development has not won me plaudits with ConHome. But I make no apologies.
For years I have fought to debunk populist myths around foreign aid and development.
Refrains like “why are we funding India’s space programme!” or “why we are giving our money away to corrupt dictators!” are as tired as they are wrong. And those who buy into the false fantasy that the UK can solve our serious problems by shutting ourselves off from the rest of the world are equally deluded.
This isn’t about morality.
For me, helping people in need is important, yes, but not as important as defending our national interest. And if you believe that Conservative support for international development is the preserve of eccentric do-gooders, remember that only five MPs voted against the International Development Act which enshrined our 0.7 per cent commitment in law when it was introduced into the Commons in 2015.
Whether we like it or not, we are more connected than ever before, in a world that is also more dangerous than at any other time in my sixty-eight years.
The UK faces a massive immigration crisis which cannot be disaggregated from the myriad crises engulfing the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
War is a major driver of mass displacement, but so too is famine and economic breakdown. In Africa, the ripple effects of these challenges are intensely felt, as resources are ravaged, and livelihoods are lost. Meaning more instability, more insecurity and in turn, many more refugees being pushed further and further afield. Never let us forget the whole aim – the justification – for our international development programme is to build safer and more prosperous places over there, so people do not need to come over here.
The problems on our own borders must be seen in this context.
It is true that we need to stem the Channel crossings but reining in evil people-smugglers is like chasing a horse that has bolted. In many cases, it is too late. Stopping the boats addresses the symptom, not the cause. We must instead start at source. Long before migrants reach Calais. Before they cross the Mediterranean. While they are still close to home. We do this by alleviating the root causes of migration, helping people to thrive and prosper in their own countries.
As the old adage goes, the best cure is prevention.
What’s really needed is a massive ‘Marshall Plan’ for north Africa and the Sahel. A carrot and stick plan, involving the UK, EU and others with a direct interest too. Otherwise wait for hundreds of millions of feet to walk towards us.
This is international development.
Far from giving money away, it is an investment. I mean that literally. I have always said that every penny of our aid budget must be spent in the national interest. I wonder how many people realise that taxpayers’ money that has been invested through the private sector wing of the UK’s development programme turns a profit, which is then reinvested, helping to build economic infrastructure, create jobs and power growth in the developing world. An investment delivering a profit for our hard-pressed taxpayers.
Prosperity, which we know is generated by the private sector, is the overarching goal of development. Granted, traditional aid is a part of that endeavour, but humanitarian relief, vaccination and education programmes are foundational building blocks on the road to self-sufficiency, for which there can never be a substitute.
Prosperous societies are essential for the UK’s security. Poverty is a breeding ground for terrorism which feeds on the desperation of people.
The Global Terrorist Index 2024 shows that the epicentre of terrorism is the central Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for over half of all deaths from terrorism. Well, you might say, “this is Africa’s problem!” I say, I’m afraid not: it is our problem too.
Groups like Al-Shabaab in Somalia, ISIL in the Sahel and Boko Harem in northern Nigeria may not be making headline news, but they are a destabilising scourge in the territories they stalk, sowing fear, chaos and ultimately exodus. They serve as another ‘push’ factor, exporting refugees in their millions. But it gets even more complicated.
In the murky transnational underground, where dirty money channelled through western countries helps fund evil nihilists in Africa and elsewhere, few countries are immune to its impacts. The UK is no exception. Money laundering makes us more vulnerable to infiltration, more vulnerable to letting Bad Actors seep into our country and less secure as a result. Smashing the nexus between organised crime and terrorism is part of international development’s remit. The fight against dirty money is an integral part of the fight for global security, and I’m afraid Britain has questions to answer on failing to do enough to clamp down on this.
“Hang on,” I hear you say. “What about that space programme and those dictators? What about those affluent countries that receive our hard-earned cash?” Let me calm you down. This money is not a handout; it is used to fund collaborative projects on such areas as science and research, which accelerates the quest for medical and technological breakthroughs. Teaming up with world class scientists and innovators to discover cures for disease, or solutions for plastic waste, enhances us a nation. One of those girls getting an education through the Girls’ Education Challenge Fund, thanks to you, may discover the cure for cancer.
And we should not give any aid direct to governments. I put a stop to that practice when I became Secretary of State for International Development. For the best part of 14 years the UK has worked with trusted partners on the ground, ensuring the budget is fully accounted for and demonstrates value for money. So, the argument that UK taxpayers line the pockets of thieving despots is patently untrue.
I’m not claiming that international development policy and programmes are perfect. No area of public policy is.
But if it didn’t exist, we would need to invent it.
International development connects the dots between prosperity, security and migration across the world. It is a recognition that what happens over there, for good or ill, will repercuss over here.
We may not like it, but that’s the truth.