Tag Archives: Conservatives

Assisting development = assisting what, precisely?

Posted on October 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

All around are the signs and sounds of a steady gearing up for the renewed development debate. Before it gets swamped by a demand for commitments based on GDP percentages, targets and indicators, it would be a good idea to reflect a little on what we really mean by development. Continue reading →

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Posted in International development

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Development aid – its opponents and proponents

Posted on September 24, 2012 | 3 Comments

A new debate is heating up in Britain about overseas development assistance – ODA. To foreign observers struck by how international generosity became a cross-party consensus here, it may come as something of a surprise that development aid is under pressure. But it is real and should be heeded for well-honed arguments are needed. Continue reading →

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Posted in International development

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From the UK gov’t, a good message on development and peace

Posted on September 22, 2010 | 1 Comment

The UK’s International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell made a speech in London on 16 September setting out his and DFID’s approach on development, security, conflict and peace issues. It was barely noticed by the press. That’s a shame because it was very important – far more so than what he and other members of the government are saying this week at (or about) the UN Millennium Summit in New York. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development

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After the UK election (2): Three questions on international development

Posted on May 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

What does the advent of the new government mean for UK policy on international development? Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development, The economic crunch

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How much will UK development policy change under a Conservative government?

Posted on October 24, 2009 | 2 Comments

The Conservative Party is set fair to win next year’s UK general election. What will happen to development policy? The Conservatives published a Green Paper in the summer, shortly after the government put out its White Paper on development, to which I gave a warm review. In this rather long post I extend the same courtesy to the Conservatives. Overall judgement: much to welcome but some reservations because the document is conservative in the wrong way.    Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development

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The new UK economic greenprint, politics and how the media reacted

Posted on July 16, 2009 | 1 Comment

Two of the big issues the world faces today are how to recover from the economic crunch and how to reverse global warming and deal with climate change. On Wednesday 15 July the UK government addressed both with a major policy statement reshaping its energy policy to reduce carbon emissions. It signals a bold effort to green the economy and create several hundred thousand new jobs. The biggest risk it faces is getting politically entangled – and in this regard, the media reaction was a worry.

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Posted in Climate change, The economic crunch

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