LONDON — Keir Starmer’s decision to underwrite a major new defense commitment by slashing overseas aid spending was supposed to signal the British prime minister’s seriousness about global security.
But along the way it has provoked a ministerial resignation, an internal party row — and left those in charge of the country’s ambitious international climate policies wondering if they, too, have been hobbled.
The cut, expected to take more than £6 billion a year from the aid budget from 2027, was announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the end of last month.
A full week on, the government is unable to say what impact the cut would have on international climate finance — a key plank of U.K. green diplomacy through which money is invested in poorer countries to help them build cleaner energy systems or protect against the effects of climate change.
