Grand plans, limited visions and no vision: The Greens, Plaid Cymru, SNP and Reform 2024 Election Manifestos

It feels a bit unfair to consider the main other parties in a single block, especially lumping the left-leaning nationalist and green parties with the how-right-can-you-stretch Reform offering. But we have to draw the line somewhere.

As you would expect, the Green Party’s 2024 manifesto commitments on global development and aid are framed within the idea of ‘a fairer, greener world’, and overseas aid within the climate emergency. There are just two policies: increasing UK aid to 1% of GNI by 2033 (nice to actually see a time-frame for this, as well as a commitment to a target significantly higher than 0.7%). And importantly, there is a commitment to increasing climate finance to the Global South to 1.5% GNI by the same date. This is presumably separate to, and on top of, aid spending, which meets the criteria for ‘new and additional’ spending inherent to climate finance.

Plaid Cyrmu, in its epic of a manifesto (72 pages for the English version) devotes just 41 words to global development, in which it commits to 0.7% target for aid, which should be used for ‘internationally recognised aid purposes’. It’s rather disappointing, and their campaign directors have clearly decided to draw their battle lines with Labour and Conservative rivals in different areas in their musings on ‘foreign affairs’.

Scotland is a donor in its own right, with an annual £10 million International Development Fund that focuses on four countries: Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Pakistan. It also has its own £3 million Climate Justice Fund and a £1 million Humanitarian Emergency Fund. Although small-scale, it is important and an indication of the Scottish government’s external-facing engagement. Which makes it all the more surprising that the SNP 2024 election manifesto gives just 11 words to global development (‘Immediately restore and maintain the UK international aid budget to 0.7%’). It does have a longer statement calling for an increased contribution to the climate action-related global loss and damage fund, championing Scottish leadership in providing funds.

The SNP 2019 election manifesto was a bit stronger on global development: not much in terms of space given, but strong on maintaining the 0.7% target; and calls for strict oversight to ensure that aid spending was only for development or humanitarian purposes, and under the direct supervision of the then DFID. This latest manifesto has definitely downgraded SNP thinking on global development and aid.

Is this because the SNP have nothing to say here? Or that it doesn’t see it as a priority (perhaps reflecting the internal battles over the SNP vision that have ruptured the party since the departure of Nicola Sturgeon)? It’s all rather frustrating for an nationalist party that actually has experience of working in this area and expertise to draw on. To be fair, the SNP have always given more attention in their manifestos to issues around climate change and issues around migration in their outward facing pledges. And the climate emergency is a development issue. But still, the SNP have the potential for a much stronger vision on global development, and it’s a shame that it hasn’t appeared here.

This is especially the case looking at the Scottish Labour Party manifesto (I wouldn’t normally have considered this one, but it does present a sharp contrast with the SNP). So an interesting point of difference between the SNP and Scottish Labour Party, in an area where I would have expected more convergence.

Like its forerunner, the Brexit Party, the Nigel Farage Party Reform Party likes to do things differently and offers a ‘Contract’ rather than manifesto to the British electorate. Would you be surprised to know global development doesn’t feature especially high in its, ahem, Contract? Basically it comes down to halving UK aid spending (because ‘British taxpayers should not be funding countries like China or India who have their own space programmes’); and a promise for a ‘major review … into the effectiveness of overseas aid’. Perhaps they haven’t come across ICAI yet. And that’s your lot from Reform. At least there’s no mention of a ship.

It’s easy to be snooty about Reform and its lack of financial and policy literacy. But dismissing Farage, as we know, is dangerous. We may condemn the absence of facts, the inflammatory language, the mistruths, and the targeting of particular communities. But sadly there are many who are listening and perhaps agreeing. The ‘why should we provide aid to countries who build space rockets’ line is not new, but it does cut through. And if the Conservative Party are decimated, leaving it in the hands of those on the right, then not only is there a good chance that Reform’s call to halve aid could make it to official Tory policy, but there would be significant public (and media) support for such a move. That isn’t to say party proposals on global development could shape an election; but they could play an important framing role for the wider values and position on internationalisation for parties and in public debates.