Quotes
Well we are at the early stages of that, and obviously I am not going to get ahead of myself until we have made decisions. But as I have said before, in terms of the big decisions on tax... obviously the Budget was the place that we took those decisions - but as ever, going into a statement I am not going to say in advance what we might do and what we might not do.”
Sir Keir declined to rule that out, stating
Getting towards 3 per cent of GDP will eventually mean more tough choices and sacrifices elsewhere – whether higher taxes or cuts to other bits of government.”
IFS associate director Ben Zaranko saidLet me not let hares running, the big decisions were in the Budget of last year and that's the way we are approaching this spring statement.”
He saidThe Cabinet had a discussion on it and we were all united that the number one responsibility of any government is to keep its citizens safe
She added
It is devastating that we've had to reduce the overseas aid budget, but we had to set a balanced budget.
But, speaking to broadcasters, Ms Rayner saidWe need to remind the Government that development aid and defence spending are two sides of the same coin
But one MP saidWhen Trump did it… he said 'we don't care about the impact'.
He is reported to have said
Who will benefit from these aid cuts? The answer is Russia and China.”
But in an article for The Independent, Mr Mitchell writesThe foreign secretary (David Lammy) himself warned that spaces we vacate would be filled by our adversaries. History will judge this to be a strategic disaster of our own making.”
He addsAs General Mattis famously said: the more we cut aid, the more we must spend on ammunition.”
He notesAt times like this, the defence and security of the British people must always come first. That is the No. 1 priority of this Government.”
However he defended the decision, saying
Defence and security must come first, but he does have choices about how he funds that important uplift. In the last Parliament, he and I voted together against balancing the books on the backs of the poorest people in the world.”
But some Conservatives are also worried about the cut to aid spending including former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, who told the Prime MinisterIf that's the case, then we're in a good position to try to promote a negotiation between Russia and Ukraine,
he added
Because it would be very odd to have a situation where you have the burden shift to Europeans, but not the strategic responsibility and the strategic reflections,
she told VOA.jpg)
President Trump thinks we should do more, and I agree with him. It chimes with my thinking on this,
Starmer saidThe most important thing, do these guys get along? Do they have a common vision
he said of Trump and Starmer, because that could signal the emergence of a Western strategy to end the war with NATO’s supportSo for him, the question is basically averting the situation where there are U.S. tariffs and of course also trying to appease Washington in that regard, while he’s also not going on a super confrontational line with the European Union,
she saidThrough those choices, as hard as they are, we must also seek unity — a whole society effort that will reach into the lives, the industries, and the homes of the British people,
Starmer explained
Aid vs defense isn't a realistic narrative for keeping the world safe."
The UnitedI’m saddened that we have had to reduce our development budget. But let’s be clear, this was not an ideological decision in terms of development.” ... It was
Lammy said