The UK has just published the brutal cuts it will make to country spending plans. In 10 of 17 African partners spend is being cut to a de minimis level. They are home to over 130m people in extreme poverty. The UK is giving up meaningful influence and heading for an all-time low in overseas aid.

The UK gov wants asylum seekers to repay £10k of their accommodation costs. We ran the numbers, gov could raise 3.5x more in tax & lower support costs by asking asylum seekers to work instead (with @helen-dempster.bsky.social & @ianmitchell1.bsky.social) cgdev.org/blog/asking-...

How does your country rank on its effort on international development? For over 20 years, we assessed policies. This edition sees an unprecedented drop in efforts, with 24 of 38 countries regressing. But there are neglected areas beyond aid - policymakers and advocates should think more broadly.

Center for Global Development@cgdev.org · 9mo ago

As aid budgets decline, the ways rich countries are driving development are more important than ever. 🌟NEW: @cgdev.org’s Commitment to Development Index ranks the world’s richest nations, spotlighting impacts on the poorest & where nations can step up ⬇️🧵#CDI2025 go.cgdev.org/49ZJoD5

We're hiring! We're after a recent graduate with quant and comms skills to work with me on ideas for the UK's development policy; and on benchmarking development performance. You need to have the right to work in the UK Full details here: centerforglobaldevelopment.applytojob.com/apply/gIODpv...

Research Assistant - UK and Development - Center for Global Development - Career Page

Apply to Research Assistant - UK and Development at Center for Global Development in London, London, United Kingdom.

centerforglobaldevelopment.applytojob.com

New survey: Brits think that the UK's new aid budget is too low. One of many interesting findings in the BFPG survey.

Evie Aspinall @evieaspinall.bsky.social · last yr.

10. Only 18% of Britons support spending 0.7% of GNI or more on international development. However, more Britons believe the UK’s aid spend target should be higher than 0.3% of GNI (38%) than believe it should be lower (34%), suggesting some room to increase spending about 0.3%.

The UK Government needs to cut £3bn from its aid budget. But can it also fulfill commitments on greater multilateralism, targeting poverty, and ensuring impact? @samhugh3s.bsky.social and I set three tests on aid allocation that would signify the 'change' promised. www.cgdev.org/blog/how-uk-...

How the UK Should Focus Its Aid in 2026: Three Tests to Help Ministers Deliver on Commitments and Maximise Impact

The FCDO must cut nearly £3 billion from its aid budget by 2027. Ian Mitchell and Sam Hughes set out three tests to protect impact.

cgdev.org

Very rough and ready estimate of the most affected countries by the new tariffs, apologies for errors. Sources in thread. Cambodia, Vietnam, Nicaragua Guyana all *highly* dependent on exports to US (= to 25%+ GNI), facing tariffs 18-38%.

New blog by @justsand.bsky.social and me on USAID cuts by country and updated (again) sectoral cuts based on the list that went to Congress today. Ukraine $1.4bn cut. Ethiopia, the DRC, Colombia, South Africa, Palestine, Bangladesh, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Tanzania >$200m

Make America Great Again by slashing basic health services in the Congo. Hopefully Congress doesn't take these numbers as given.

Charles Kenny@charlesjkenny.bsky.social · last yr.

New blog by @justsand.bsky.social and me on USAID cuts by country and updated (again) sectoral cuts based on the list that went to Congress today. Ukraine $1.4bn cut. Ethiopia, the DRC, Colombia, South Africa, Palestine, Bangladesh, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Tanzania >$200m

Today's spring statement quietly revealed that the vast majority of the aid cut the PM announced for 2027 will actually happen in 2026. In fact, 2026/27 will see a 27% cut. That is steeper than the Boris Johnson aid cut in 2021. A short thread on the figures:

We are delighted to announce that @helenmiller.bsky.social has been appointed as the next IFS Director, following on from @pjtheeconomist.bsky.social in July 2025. Find out more:

Helen Miller appointed as new Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies | Institute for Fiscal Studies

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is delighted to announce that Helen Miller has been appointed as its next Director.

ifs.org.uk

Fascinating this - do Chinese contractors delivering World Bank projects achieve worse outcomes than others? Answer: no. [US and UK contractors also perform around the average but Australian and French ones do less well]

Charles Kenny@charlesjkenny.bsky.social · last yr.

Paper (with Zack Gehan & Songtao Duan) and blog on Chinese Contractors & Development Project Quality. We take World Bank data on contractors working on projects and match it to project outcome data. Graph below: country of main contract supplier versus project outcome rating.

New @cgdev.org blog from me on the UK aid cut in 2027 as HM Treasury finalise budgets. Just three points: 1) Many are saying the cut needs a 'glidepath'. But this is misleading - glidepaths are supposed to soften cuts. But in this case, it just means making cuts a year sooner.

Incredibly clear thread on the US cuts, and the responsibility Secretary Rubio bears for them

Charles Kenny@charlesjkenny.bsky.social · last yr.

The resulting death toll is an outcome that Secretary Rubio, with his considerable understanding of the power of US foreign assistance to save lives, will have understood was an inevitable result of the pause, failed waivers, and contract terminations. www.cgdev.org/blog/dear-se...

At last some courage and leadership from someone in Labour on international development A mid-sized economic power like the UK cannot spend just 0.3% of income on international issues.

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · last yr.

This is the key paragraph of Dodds' resgination letter:

"Sir Keir Starmer is to take UK overseas aid to its lowest level as a percentage of national income since records began" Great to see the @theguardian.com lead with our @cgdev.org analysis. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Keir Starmer to carry out largest cut to UK overseas aid in history

NGOs accuse prime minister of following US by accepting ‘false choice’ of cutting aid to fund defence

theguardian.com

Even the PM instinctively understands that aid should be spent overseas - his official statement on the cut refers to "Overseas Development Assistance' (usually "Official" Devt Assistance). Let's hope he stops counting the £4-5bn spent in the UK as aid. www.gov.uk/government/n...

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer just cut the UK aid budget from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3% in 2027 to fund increases in defence spending. He says he’s making tough choices, but cutting funding for the world’s poorest people is the easiest—and cruellest—choice he could make (1/4)

NEW: @ianmitchell1.bsky.social & @samhugh3s.bsky.social find a 1 year US aid freeze could trigger an economic shock of 1% of GNI in 23 economies—with 8 countries, incl. South Sudan, Somalia & Ethiopia, facing a devastating 3%+ hit. Which other countries could step up? www.cgdev.org/blog/which-c...

20 years ago this week Nelson Mandela told a UK audience that poverty was man-made and could be eradicated. Most think aid should tackle poverty - but with the US stepping back - is the UK actually focussed on that goal? Does it still care? A 5-point thread on our new @cgdev.org blog & analysis:

Here is United States law regarding the President's attempts to close our development assistance agency in secret over the weekend. It is illegal. No ambiguity. Americans decide with their actions, today, if the US is a country of laws or—something else. —> crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/...

The closing panel at #OxCSAE2025 will be 'Evidence-based Policy: Towards an Improved Research-policy Equilibrium in Africa' 🗣️@scepticalranil.bsky.social, Nompumelelo Nyathi-Mohohlwane, Miriam Laker, Justice Tei Mensah, @olihanney.bsky.social Find out more cvent.me/vbN029 Register cvent.me/grRQBN

The world's wealthiest man harming the world's poorest people. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Senior USAid officials put on leave after denying access to Musk’s Doge team

After standoff, Doge members gained control over access system, letting them lock out workers and read emails

theguardian.com

Rumours that USAID is being eliminated or integrated. Having the State Department or Ministry of Foreign affairs be responsible for aid is what small counties do, not global superpowers.

Very good piece this from Rachel with practical suggestions for a smart US aid review on advancing American interests.

Rachel Bonnifield@rachelbonnifield.bsky.social · 2y ago

The last week has been v bad for US foreign assistance -- and that's bad for America. But there's still time for Secretary Rubio--who has a track record of supporting smart aid--to avert looming disaster and enact a *real* (and needed!) review and reform. Here's how: www.cgdev.org/blog/changin...

The UK remains one of the largest ever recipients of US aid, thanks to massive post-WWII support.🇺🇸🇬🇧 Roman Napoli, @ianmitchell1.bsky.social & @samhugh3s.bsky.social reflect on the UK-US relationship & draw out lessons on how foreign assistance can help build allies ⬇ www.cgdev.org/blog/special...

Our new blog highlights how abnormal is the current Gov's policy of using the limited foreign aid budget to fund support for asylum seekers within the UK. Before 2014, nearly no UK asylum seeker support was funded via aid, even when it faced spikes in applicants similar to today's (eg around 2000).

Ian Mitchell@ianmitchell1.bsky.social · 2y ago

Nearly 30% of UK aid is spent on refugees in the UK. But what happened in past refugee spikes? We find if Blair & Brown had taken the current approach, the UK would have spent zero on overseas aid in some years. A 🧵 on new @cgdev.org analysis w/ @samhugh3s.bsky.social:

Nearly 30% of UK aid is spent on refugees in the UK. But what happened in past refugee spikes? We find if Blair & Brown had taken the current approach, the UK would have spent zero on overseas aid in some years. A 🧵 on new @cgdev.org analysis w/ @samhugh3s.bsky.social:

Extraordinary achievement indeed! Also a case for a multi-country agreement on this

Alan Matthews@alanmatthews.bsky.social · 2y ago

Denmark becomes first country in world to introduce climate tax on livestock emissions, also agreement on N reduction and land use change, supported by broad majority in Parliament and main farmer organisation. Yes, there are criticisms but still extraordinary achievement

Perversely, Britain now forces a one-to-one tradeoff between one of the most bloated and inefficient bits of government (the asylum system) and one of the most cost-effective (development aid in the poorest countries). My piece in this week's @economist.com: www.economist.com/britain/2024...