International Development Minister Annelise Dodds today resigned from her post following the Prime Minister’s decision to cut overseas aid to fund a boost in defence spending.
Ms Dodds stated in a post on X: ‘It is with sadness that I have had to tender my resignation as Minister for International Development and for Women and Equalities.’
Writing in her resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Ms Dodds said she accepted the need to increase defence spending but feared ‘three per cent may only be the start’ and that it would be ‘impossible to raise the substantial resources needed just through tactical cuts to public spending’.
On social media, Stroud MP Dr Simon Opher said: “Anneliese Dodds is a thoroughly decent person. I share her concerns about reducing the overseas aid budget.
“A Labour government should be better than this.”
Ms Dodds paid a visit to Dr Opher in 2023 when he was a GP at May Lane Surgery in Dursley when she Shadow Secretary for Women and Equalities to discuss women’s health.
