UK International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds announced her resignation from the Labour government on Friday, citing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to cut overseas aid to fund increased defense spending.
“These cuts will ultimately take food and healthcare away from people in desperate need,” Dodds wrote in her resignation letter to Starmer, which she shared on X.
On Tuesday, Starmer pledged to raise the UK’s defense budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2027.
To finance this increase, he ordered a reduction in the overseas development budget from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income.
While Dodds acknowledged the necessity of boosting defense spending amid global instability, she expressed disappointment that no collective discussion was held on alternative funding options.
“Instead, the entire burden was placed on overseas development assistance,” she stated.
In response, Starmer acknowledged that cutting aid was a “difficult and painful decision,” but stressed that safeguarding national security must be the government’s top priority.
Following Dodds’ departure, Starmer appointed longtime ally Jenny Chapman as the new international development minister.
Dodds voiced concerns that aid programs for Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan—as well as initiatives addressing climate change and vaccinations—would be severely impacted by the cuts.
“With such deep reductions, it will be impossible to sustain these priorities,” she warned, adding that the move would likely force the UK to withdraw from various African, Caribbean, and Western Balkan countries.
Starmer sought to reassure her, stating that his government would “continue to protect vital programs, especially in the world’s most severe conflict zones.”
Dodds is the fourth minister to leave Starmer’s cabinet since Labour’s election victory last year, which ended 14 years of Conservative rule.
Earlier this month, junior health minister Andrew Gwynne was dismissed over alleged anti-Semitic, racist, and sexist remarks in a WhatsApp chat.
In January, Anti-Corruption Minister Tulip Siddiq resigned after being implicated in corruption investigations in Bangladesh.
In November, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh stepped down following revelations that she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offense before becoming an MP.
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