Category: Aid
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Why did DfID spend £2m on the Pope’s visit to the UK?
This article first appeared on Left Foot Forward. A Written Ministerial Statement today reveals that the Department for International Development (DfID) spent nearly £2m on the Pope’s successful visit to the UK. The document states that £1.85m was transferred to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office “in respect of the papal visit.” This follows a written Parliamentary Answer by Lord Sassoon…
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Will long-term poverty reduction fail under the Tories?
There is an article running on the Guardian website analysing the contradiction at the heart of Conservative international development policy. It looks at the emerging schism between traditional Conservative values on aid and the ring-fenced budget; as well as between an increased focus on security and the alleviation of poverty. LCID has run several articles…
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Join Hilary Benn and others for a public debate in Leeds!
On Saturday 4 December, Emma Hoddinott will be chairing a public debate in Leeds to discuss sereral areas of international development. Among the panel of speakers will be Hilary Benn MP, former International Development Secretary. Saturday 4 December Leeds Civic Hall 1:45pm for a 2pm start, until 4pm Topics for the debate will include: Should…
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Brown gives evidence to the select committee
Earlier this week, Gordon Brown gave evidence to the International Development Select Committee, warning that increased protectionism during the global recession would hurt African development. The BBC have a great article about the session and you can watch footage of Brown’s evidence here. As you may know, we won’t meet the MDGs on current trends…
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Tax Havens, Conservatives and the Developing World
After the recent investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches programme that Conservative Ministers, Andrew Mitchell the International Development Secretary amongst them, store their wealth in off-shore bank accounts, the question of the harm done by these locations and their practices are now being asked. The figure quoted in the Dispatches investigation is that for every £1…
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New Shadow Secretary sets up local international development group
The new Shadow International Development Secretary, Harriet Harman, has established an international development advisory panel in her constituency, Camberwell and Peckham. The new panel, which will be hosted using virtual groups will have regular contact with and will meet regularly at Southwark Town Hall in Peckham. Speaking about the panel and her new brief, Harriet…
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Steve Cockburn on the human right to water
There’s a very interesting blog by LCID’s Steve Cockburn over on the Progress site about the Tories pulling out of the process to recognise the right to water. In July the UK abstained on a UN resolution tabled by the president of Bolivia recognising access to water and sanitation as a human right, due to…
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An Obama blockbuster, a Remastered Brown, and a Clegg B-Movie
First published on Left Foot Forward, the UK’s top left wing blog, where LCID is a regular contributor. It is difficult to get excited about a United Nations summit on the Millennium Development Goals. Difficult when we know, before a single delegate set foot off the plane in New York, that the goals are massively…
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Anthony Painter: Does aid work?
Renowned Labour blogger Anthony Painter has been blogging from the UN Summit on the MDGs this week. We are pleased to carry his post here. A blog on the UN Millennium Development Goal Summit should start with a call to arms. You know the type of thing. We are at a crossroads. It’s now or…
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Could the Government be about to destroy the International Development Act?
By Margaret Dantas Araujo Some of the UK’s biggest charities, Oxfam, CAFOD, and Save the Children, have publically raised concerns about the growing threat of securitisation of the aid budget. The use of aid for political reasons would be in direct contravention of the International Development Act 2002. The act, explicitly states, (1)The Secretary of…
Labour Campaign for International Development 