Andy Burnham must prove Britain can fund its public services without abandoning the world’s poorest

In Freetown, Sierra Leone, mothers like Sonita need urgent maternal healthcare to survive life-threatening complications during labour. The UK's G20 presidency is a chance to restore Britain's global leadership By Tracy Gilbert MP However, as a result of severe international aid cuts by the US and UK, hospitals in Freetown are no longer always equipped with the essential medicines and surgical equipment they need to operate, leaving mothers like Sonita waiting hours for an emergency caesarean.

Sonita and her baby, Kelvin, survived thanks to the tireless work of the staff at the hospital, which has been supported by a UK aid-funded programme aimed at improving maternal and newborn healthcare across the country. But now, with the UK set to slash its bilateral funding to Sierra Leone by over 80% by 2029 , the flagship programme is reportedly facing devastating cuts before it closes next year. Cuts to UK aid funding that help save the lives of mothers like Sonita are not isolated.

A programme supporting communities in Bangladesh to adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis, including through solar power systems and climate-resilient farming, was forced to close two years early. And a pioneering disability rights programme, which improved access to education, employment and healthcare for people with disabilities, will not be extended despite reaching over 20 million people across six countries. Hundreds more lifesaving programmes around the world have faced a similar fate.

For decades, Britain has played a proud role in building peace and preventing conflict, providing access to clean water, and preventing the spread of deadly diseases like Ebola. From 2015 to 2020, the UK aid budget supported 62.6 million people gain access to clean water and reached over 25 million women and girls a year with modern family planning support. But at a time of increasing humanitarian need, with more conflicts now than at any time since the end of the Second World War, deepening inequality, and increasing threats to our human rights, previous governments have retreated from our international commitments.

But our new government has the chance to change track. The prime minister has spoken passionately about putting progressive values of care, community and social justice back into the heart of politics. And this same ambition is already being applied to our international engagements. We’ve seen this in action through the foreign secretary’s recent sanctions on illegal settlements in the West Bank, and we’ve also heard him express a commitment to continuing this ambition through the UK’s upcoming G20 presidency.

As G20 president, the UK can put our agenda, led by our values of shared humanity and social justice, on the global stage and help build a global economy that works better for us all and makes us more secure and resilient. Currently, over 100 of the world’s lowest-income countries spend more on debt repayment than on education. Tax loopholes and the flow of dirty money also leave these countries unable to generate revenue to fund healthcare or build up resilience to climate change.

As a result, countries are trapped in a vicious cycle, compounded by shrinking global aid budgets, forced to keep borrowing and unable to tackle extreme poverty and the climate and nature crisis. But by tackling this global debt crisis, clamping down on flows of dirty money, and securing fairer international tax rules, the UK could help unlock billions to support low- and middle-income countries to invest in their own public services, grow their economies sustainably and increase their economic security.

And it’s not just low-income countries that would benefit; these fixes to the global financial system would also recover more money for us to spend on our public services like the NHS, education and local communities here in the UK, at no extra cost to the British taxpayer. We know the government wants to build a system in the UK and abroad that works fairly for everyone and sets us up for a brighter, safer and more stable future. They’re also clear about the importance of leading with our values to strengthen our collective security and prosperity: from easing the cost-of-living burden that UK families face to helping them access critical healthcare.

By ruling out further cuts to the UK aid budget and using our G20 presidency to champion reforms to the global financial system, the UK government can make this vision of a better, fairer and more secure world a reality for communities at home and abroad. ____________________ Tracy Gilbert is the Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith. LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position. To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk