Richard Darlington

Campaign Director @AidAlliance_ + Head of Strategic Communications @WMScomms. Pro-feminist, post-structuralist, multilateralist & @WonkComms original

[International Development Committee @CommonsIDC]

Chair @SarahChampionMP responds to the details of the foreign aid budget cuts announced in today's Spring Statement.

Find out more�Chair @SarahChampionMP responds to the details of the foreign aid budget cuts announced in today's Spring Statement.

Find out more👇

[Sarah Champion @SarahChampionMP]

Cutting ODA from 0.5% to 0.3% by 2027 is deeply shortsighted and doesn’t make anyone safer.

The deep irony is that development money can prevent wars & is used to patch up the consequences of them, cutting this support is counterproductive and I urge the government to rethink.

[Claire Hazelgrove MP @CHazelgroveMP]

Yesterday, our Foreign Affairs Committee heard evidence from Sir Philip Barton, @FCDOGovUK Permanent Under-Secretary.

In one of my questions, I asked if he thought the last Conservative government’s cut to aid has had an impact on the UK’s soft power.

“Yes, I think it has.”

[Richard Darlington @RDarlo]

I hate to break it to Robert Jenrick but you couldn’t get anywhere near to 3% of GDP for UK defence spending by cutting what remains of UK foreign aid. It’s like saying you plan to buy a new house by selling your bicycle

[Richard Darlington @RDarlo]

@patrickwintour Literally no one is is advocating for an “immediate return”. If you look at the data, it shows the public pretty split (perhaps even confused). The methodology on this snap shot polling isn’t very enlightening because focus groups show the public don’t understand what 0.7% is

[Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office @FCDOGovUK]

It’s time for a new and modern approach to international development.

[Richard Darlington @RDarlo]

@TimSingSkyNews @YousraElbagir thank you for this vital reporting 🙏

[John O'Connell @jdpoc]

Apparently at WH Smith station bookshop at Milton Keynes Central ...

Fine work, people. Fine work.

[Richard Darlington @RDarlo]

I’ve spoken to my MP today about climate change. It’s fair to say she knows A LOT about local biodiversity but I’m reassured that she also understands that we can’t save the planet with U.K. action alone, so finance for developing countries is vital #CommonGrounds #MeetYourMP

[Adrian Lovett @adrianlovett]

Chancellor @RachelReevesMP on cutting aid.

"It will diminish Britain.

It will reduce our power and influence for good in the world.

It will undermine our security at home too.

It’s about the country we are, and the country we want to be."

AGREED.

[Aid Alliance @AidAlliance_]

UK aid spend may hit 17-year low, charities warn

https://t.co/q1GkatkL6N

[Bond @bondngo]

3 things Labour should do to repair the #UKaid budget:
1. Maintain UK aid at 0.58% of GNI this year.
2. Reform the inherited method for reporting UK aid spending on refugees in the UK.
3. Outline fair & transparent fiscal tests to return to 0.7%.
https://t.co/G2vVjpUzKV

[Aid Alliance @AidAlliance_]

The UK’s bilateral aid has been cut by 37% in education, by 39% in health, by 58% in water and sanitation and by 42% in humanitarian support.

https://t.co/uNrs4ojhtg

[The Global Goals @TheGlobalGoals]

Prices are rising - an 800g loaf is up 30p in the UK! But is there a solution to the Cost of Living Crisis? YES! International investment in farming, health, and more can create stability & protect us from future price hikes. Watch Max Klymenko hit the streets to learn more. #MakesTotalSense

[Richard Darlington @RDarlo]

The Thatcher-era think-tank quietly inspiring Labour’s policies via @FT
https://t.co/gGq8wevJRd

[Richard Watts @Richard__Watts]

Another year & yet another budget squeeze for @FCDOGovUK ...

Despite promises of an uplift in aid spending, the opposite is looking more and more likely.

Lets dive into the reasons why and what options the new UK government has. A 🧵 1/8

[PublishWhatYouFund @aidtransparency]

Aid more transparent than ever before. 2024 Aid Transparency Index shows how #aiddata is more accessible and useful – and why it has never been more needed #2024Index https://t.co/QCygzXEyoc

[Richard Darlington @RDarlo]

Can’t wait to read this

[James Macintyre @James_Macintyre]

I’m writing this new biography of Gordon Brown, to be published by @BloomsburyBooks. It will have many fresh revelations on the battles fought by a conviction politician whose life and times in office hold numerous lessons for the new PM. Some more below: https://t.co/awgUiY70XQ

[David Taylor MP @DavidTaylor85]

Thinking of Glenys today on what would have been her 80th birthday.

I am so grateful for the support that she and Neil have given me over the years, and cannot wait to take up the great causes she espoused in Parliament.

[Russell Hargrave @Hargraver]

@AgnesChambre PM: "Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started. It was never a deterrant."