Lord Cameron Says UK Must ‘Adapt to New Realities’ and Endorses Reduction in International Aid Budget

Foreign Secretary David Cameron—who as prime minister in 2015 signed into law a promise to spend 0.7 percent of GDP on international aid—has now backtracked.

Video grab of the introduction of Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton at the House of Lords, London on Nov. 20, 2023 Parliament/PA

Britain’s new foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said the country must “adapt to new realities” as he explained why he supported the government backtracking on a pledge his administration made to guarantee 0.7 percent of GDP toward international aid and development.

In 2015, the Conservative government led by Lord Cameron passed the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act which was supposed to enshrine the 0.7 percent target but in 2021, the government, then led by Boris Johnson, reduced the target to 0.5 percent of GDP.