Bond put out a statement in support of Anneliese Dodds.
A network for organisations working in international development has come out in support of a Labour minister who resigned over her government’s cut to overseas aid budgets.
Anneliese Dodds stepped down from her roles as Minister of State for Development and Minister of State for Women and Equalities in response to Sir Keir Starmer’s cuts earlier this week.
On Tuesday the Prime Minister announced that the UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) will be reduced by 0.2 % of GNI, to fund an increase in defence spending from 2.3 to 2.5% of GDP by 2027. This cut will bring UK ODA as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) to 0.3%.
In 2021, the UK cut ODA from 0.7% to 0.5% under the Conservative Government - amove opposed by Sir Keir Starmer at the time and in the Labour manifesto during the 2024 General Election.
The last time that UK ODA was under 0.3% was in 1999.
Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development, uniting and supporting a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK.
Their CEO, Romilly Greenhill, expressed sadness at Ms Dodds’ departure, and backed her view on the “devastating” cuts.
She added: "I am sad to see Anneliese Dodds resign - we agree with much of what she has stated in her letter.
“She was an excellent advocate for women and girls and was dedicated to rebuilding the UK's reputation on development. We also appreciate the level of engagement she had with the sector. This will be a huge loss.
“The government should appoint a dedicated minister on development in order to deepen political attention on this agenda.
“It is clear from the devastating UK aid cuts announced this week, which must be reversed, that the government is trying to step back from its development ambitions."
The international development charity Christian Aid says it welcomes the stance taken by Development Minister Anneliese Dodds over the Prime Minister's decision to raid the aid budget to help pay for increased UK defence spending.
Patrick Watt, Christian Aid CEO, said: “Christian Aid welcomes the strong stand that the now former Development Minister Anneliese Dodds has taken today against this week’s brutal aid cuts.
"Dodds has rightly recognised that these cuts will remove food and healthcare from desperate people, will likely lead to a total pull out from many of the world’s poorest countries, and will deeply harm the UK’s reputation and influence globally.
"We thank Anneliese Dodds for her hard work and commitment in this brief and for the stance she has taken today and we look forward to working with her on the backbenches.”
