Labour's new International Development Minister, Kirsty McNeill, has recommitted to the party's manifesto pledge to raise foreign aid spending from 0.3 per cent to 0.7 per cent of national income, more than doubling the current budget without setting a timetable for doing so. The pledge comes as Labour faces criticism over its refusal to commit to raising defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030, a stance that prompted John Healey to quit as defence secretary in June, arguing the target was the minimum needed for national security.

Aid spending was cut to 0.5 per cent under the last Conservative government and further reduced to 0.3 per cent under Sir Keir Starmer to prioritise defence. Britain is set to spend £9.2billion on foreign aid in 2027, and reaching the 0.7 per cent target would require an additional £11billion a year, far outstripping the recently agreed £4billion increase in defence spending. McNeill told the Guardian she was "a huge believer in aid" and pledged to press for reform of international aid bodies, ahead of a speech at the New Economics Foundation setting out Labour's approach to development policy.