Johnson Faces Binding U.K. Vote on Planned Foreign Aid Cuts

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a rebellion in parliament from his own Conservatives to force his government to abandon plans to slash its foreign aid budget by about 4 billion pounds ($5.6 billion).

Though he enjoys a significant majority in the House of Commons, there are some Tory members of Parliament who believe they have the numbers to defeat Johnson and overturn his decision to cut international aid to 0.5% of gross national income, down from 0.7%.

The government’s rationale is that the pandemic required extraordinary spending measures and that somehow the books must be balanced, making this a painful but necessary step. Opponents say the cut directly affects vulnerable women and children, something that Johnson has stated is a priority of his Group of Seven presidency this year.

Johnson Faces Tory Revolt Over Plan to Cut U.K. Foreign Aid (1)

Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg warned the rebels they risk keeping the public finances under “reasonable control.”

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