So the 2015 General Election is nearly upon us. By now you would have seen the politicians on tv and in the newspapers promising this and that, and no doubt this will continue right up to polling day on the 7th May.

Here at Global Poverty Project, we’re obviously interested in what the political parties think about international development issues, so we decided to have a look at the manifestos and pull out some bits we thought were interesting.

Please note that this is just a snapshot of the manifestos; the parties have put a lot of time and effort into their plans for international aid and development, so take your time and read all of the manifestos (links can be found throughout the article).

The Conservative Party

  • “We will continue to meet the 0.7 per cent target, maintain an independent Department for International Development and keep aid untied.”  (p78 in the manifesto)

  • “By 2020, we will save 1.4 million children’s lives, by immunising 76 million children against killer diseases.” (p78 in the manifesto)

  • “We will help at least 11 million children in the poorest countries gain a decent education, improve nutrition for at least 50 million people, who would otherwise go hungry; and help at least 60 million people get access to clean water and sanitation, to stop terrible diseases.” (p78 in the manifesto)

  • We will push for new global goals to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030 and promote human development, gender equality and good governance. (p78-79 in the manifesto)

The full manifesto can be found here.

The Labour Party

  • “We are proud that Labour MPs passed the historic law that commits Britain to spend 0.7 per cent of our gross national income on international development. Labour will use that commitment from the British public to transform the lives of the world’s poorest people, whilst ensuring value for taxpayers’ money.” (p80 in the manifesto)

  • “We will work in fragile and conflict-affected states to improve the lives of those affected by violence, prioritising the protection and education of women and children.” (p80 in the manifesto)

  • “We will work with other countries at this year’s Sustainable Development Goals Summit to unite the world to eradicate extreme poverty, tackle growing economic inequality, and place human rights at the heart of development.” (p80 in the manifesto)

  • “We will establish a Centre for Universal Health Coverage to provide the support, encouragement, and global partnerships needed to help countries provide free healthcare.” (p80 in the manifesto)

The full manifesto can be found here.

The Liberal Democrats

  • “Maintain our commitment to spend 0.7% of UK Gross National Income on overseas development, which the International Development Act 2015, introduced by a Liberal Democrat, now enshrines in law.”  (p151 in the manifesto)

  • “Continue building the resilience of poorer countries to resist future disasters, investing in healthcare and infrastructure and training emergency response volunteers, and respond generously to humanitarian crises wherever they may occur.” (p151 in the manifesto)

  • Work to ensure the Sustainable Development Goals aim to safeguard the sustainability of the planet and leave no one behind, helping the most vulnerable as well as improving average living standards. We will ensure people do not suffer discrimination or disadvantage because of gender, sexual orientation, disability or ethnic origin. (We will ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals aim to) Eliminate absolute poverty by 2030.” (p151 in the manifesto)

  • “Invest to eliminate within a generation preventable diseases like TB, HIV and malaria and explore new ways to support public and private research and development into treatment for these and other deadly diseases and infections.” (p151 in the manifesto)

The full manifesto can be found here.

The Scottish National Party

  • “Today, Scottish international aid investment is making a big difference to thousands of lives in some of the world’s most disadvantaged communities. We have long supported the United Nations target to spend 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on international development and will continue to support UK spending at this level – which must be calculated on current, not former, measurements of GNI.” (p 19 in the manifesto)

  • “As part of a commitment to focus on aid quality, we believe that overseas aid funding should not be used for defence related expenditure and should not undermine public services in developing countries.” (p 19 in the manifesto)

  • “And, we are in favour of an audit of outstanding debt owed by developing countries, with debt relief provided as appropriate.” (p 19 in the manifesto)

  • “SNP MPs will also make the case for the establishment of a special envoy - a diplomatic post within the Foreign Office - to promote the rights of LGBTI people throughout the word, as an integral part of UK foreign policy.” (p 19 in the manifesto)

The full manifesto can be found here.

UKIP

  • “UKIP will repeal recent legislation committing aid spending to 0.7 per cent of GNI. We object to taxpayers’ money being sent to already economically thriving countries; countries with poor human rights’ records; and to money being spent on politically correct vanity projects that do nothing to lift developing nations out of poverty. We also believe charity should begin at home.” (p 68 in the manifesto)

  • “Projects in progress will be completed and any contractual obligations met.”  (p 68 in the manifesto)

  • “We will require all project expenditure to have clear, definable outcomes and future spending priorities will focus on emergency relief, healthcare, inoculation against preventable diseases and clean water and sanitation programmes.”  (p 68 in the manifesto)

  • “Removing barriers to trade is a far more effective way to tackle poverty than giving aid hand-outs, which can provide incentives for corrupt leaders to stifle economic progress. This is where UKIP will focus: having escaped from the EU’s protectionism, which has a negative impact on international development, we will be better placed to help provide sustainable livelihoods for the world’s poorest people, by giving them free access to the British market.”  (p 68 in the manifesto)

The full manifesto can be found here.

The Green Party

  • “Advocate for ambitious sustainable development goals, including a commitment to end AIDS, TB and malaria; action to eliminate violence against women and girls; and practical measures to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality.” (p73 in the manifesto)

  • “Put a stop to the corporate takeover of African food by ending UK funding of the G8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.” (p73 in the manifesto)

  • “Fight for the writing-off of international debts for the poorest countries and limiting repayments for other low-income countries, to ensure they can fund decent public services for their people.” (p73 in the manifesto)

  • “Increase the overseas aid budget from 0.7% of GDP to 1.0% of GDP over the Parliament, costing around £6 billion a year in 2019. Aid will not be tied, and will be distributed in ways that are focused on poverty eradication, supporting grassroots initiatives, women’s rights and environmental sustainability while respecting local priorities.” (p73 in the manifesto)

The full manifesto can be found here.

Plaid Cymru

  • Failure to assist the developing world will only fuel resentment, violence and division. Countries must be helped to develop their own path out of poverty and we support legislation to underpin the 0.7% Gross National Product that should be provided in international aid. This funding must be stringently monitored by independent organizations to avoid misuse. (p 36 in the manifesto)

  • Following the Millennium Development Goals, strong post-2015 goals must be set, which also recognise of the impacts of climate change upon poverty and the importance of sanitation. These goals must be respected by international organisations, including those outside the development sector, and business must play a role in meeting these goals. (p 36 in the manifesto)

  • Wales will provide humanitarian aid to the best of our ability whenever required and accept displaced persons and refugees where possible and appropriate. (p 36 in the manifesto)

  • We will ensure international cooperation to prevent modern slavery, female genital mutilation (FGM), cyber-crime and other serious cross-national crimes. (p 36 in the manifesto)

The full manifesto can be found here.

Alliance

  • “Assist developing countries to move ‘from aid to trade’. This assistance would include; improving access to international markets, supporting the development of smallholder farms and small business as well as expanding Fair Trade initiatives.” (p31 of the manifesto)

  • “Support greater investment in water and sanitation supplies as a matter of priority. This not only reduces disease and improves sanitation but could have helped prevent the development of diseases with a global threat as well as impacting directly on economic growth and inclusion.” (p31 of the manifesto)

  • “Support a global climate change fund to help ensure that poorer countries can mitigate the impact of climate change. Climate change is disproportionately caused by industrialised nations so we should assist other nations to adapt to it. This agenda needs to have accountable implementation and be supported by a global agreement on climate change.” (p31 in the manifesto)

  • “Support delivery of the post-2015 Development Programme, the successor to the Millennium Development Goals. We recognise the role the UK has played in the Millennium Development agenda but regret that a number of targets have not been met. The post-2015 targets must be both achievable and ambitious. These goals should include; specific targets for women including eradicating gendered violence and promoting access to both education and decision-making, tackling in-country inequality and invest in programmes that improve maternal health and the reduce of child mortality.” (p31 in the manifesto)

The full manifesto can be found here (link automatically downloads the manifesto).


Like I mentioned before, this is only a snapshot of what the parties think about international development, they say a lot more in their manifestos covering topics such as human rights, climate change and tax avoidance- all important topics. I highly recommend you take the time to have a read of all the manifestos, see what you think.

Just to note, we only listed manifestos that mention international development policy. However there are a lot of different candidates standing in the General Election, some with completely different parties to the ones listed above, and some candidates who are standing as independents. Why not take the time to speak to your local candidates, find out the issues they're campaigning on. To find out who is standing in your area, visit https://yournextmp.com/

Editorial

Demand Equity

What do the political parties think about aid and development?

By Paul Abernethy