The Commons: A Goodbye to the Department for International Development
Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Corbis
On the 16th of June, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that his government would be moving ahead with the merger Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DfID). The prominent Whitehall departments, while similar, maintain key differences in their aims and operation. That being so, the merger is of profound importance with critics fearing damage to Britain’s reputation globally and condemning the timing of Johnson’s announcement.
In order to understand the significance of this merger, one must look back to 1997, the year Labour took power and that of DfID’s founding. The department was established with a mandate to alleviate global poverty. In having this department independent of the Foreign Office, the UK has been able to “support genuine, stable and sustainable development,” as opposed to just “simply giving aid.” DfID’s independent origins sit largely in pockets of Labour leadership over the course of the last century. When the Conservatives gain power, they consolidate the Foreign Office with whatever department is handling overseas development. By no means is Johnson the first Conservative to push for this kind of merger.
The hopeful outcome of Johnson’s new superdepartment will be greater coordination of Britain’s foreign policy aims with their developmental aid. The Foreign Office exists with the sole aim of “promot[ing] the United Kingdom’s interests overseas, supporting [its] citizens and businesses around the globe.” Effectively, by leveraging using the UK’s large development budget, Westminster can more effectively support its foreign policy interests. In the June 16th press release, Johnson stated:
“This is exactly the moment when we must mobilise every one of our national assets, including our aid budget and expertise, to safeguard British interests and values overseas.”
Despite a pledge to maintain DfID’s £15bn yearly budget, many are still wary of what the future holds for Britain’s foreign aid. Johnson’s words strike a particular nerve within DfID, as for the last 23 years, its independence has allowed it to pursue the sole aim of poverty alleviation, rather than on advancing UK interests. For many working in the Whitehall department, the merger is a betrayal of what DfID truly stands for. Sarah Champion, chair of the House of Commons’ International Development Committee and a Labour MP, shared with the Guardian that “DfID staff do the job because they believe in the work, it’s more than a job for them – it’s a moral drive to try and alleviate poverty.” DfID is not about what the UK wants, it’s about what the rest of the world needs. Critics fear that this sentiment will be lost in the merger.
As Britain is poised to shape its global role post-Brexit and post-COVID-19, Johnson’s announcement comes at a strategic albeit controversial time. Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer has made clear his position, calling it a “pure distraction” from the Conservative’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three former Prime Ministers – Conservative David Cameron, and Labour’s Gordon Brown and Tony Blair – have also expressed their disapproval with Johnson’s announcement. In a rare sight, all three former leaders agree that joining the departments is but a loss of “one of the UK's great assets.”
The BBC spoke with Oxfam’s chief executive Danny Sriskandarajah, who has worked closely with DfID over the years. Sriskandarajah denounced Johnson’s actions, stating that the decision put “politics above the needs of [the world’s] poorest people” in the midst of a pandemic is “scarcely believable.” As well, Sriskandarajah communicated what many fear: that while “the Foreign Office may be excellent at diplomacy, [...] it has a patchy record of aid delivery and is not as transparent as DfID.” While Johnson has pledged to maintain DfID’s budget, many fear that the Foreign Office will squander the £15bn – a sum dominating the FCO’s £2.4bn yearly budget – with the express aim of advancing British interests. With DfID contributing massively to Britain’s reputation overseas, many fear that this shift in priorities will negatively affect that reputation.
Johnson hopes to have the new department – dubbed the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – up and running by September, just over 6 weeks from now. With such a brisk timeframe and concerns of substance, intent, and timing, Johnson will no doubt face backlash from within Westminster and globally in the weeks to come.