Responding to the Government winning a vote to abandon its commitment on international development spending, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey MP said: “Boris Johnson has just switched off millions of Conservative voters by callously breaking his promise and abandoning millions of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our world.
“It’s decisions like this that will make millions of voters, especially in the Blue Wall, move away from the Conservatives in droves. This Conservative Government has lost touch with the values of our country.
“Their unlawful tests for aid spending are the height of cynicism – as they were designed never to be met. The 0.7% target has been jettisoned as a result, and the law broken yet again by this Prime Minister.
“This Johnson cut is costing lives, stopping girls from going to school and putting a wrecking ball through vital projects like tackling the climate crisis. In the same year we host COP 26, Johnson is about to cut our global climate efforts off at the knee cap. It is a national embarrassment.
“Liberal Democrats have been making the case for the 0.7% target for over fifty years, and we will not stop now. It is vital that this historic mistake – which will cause hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths – is reversed.”