The Labour government’s decision to further slash the aid budget while increasing defence spending is a stark reinforcement of militarism at the expense of those most vulnerable. Despite performative claims that women and girls are at the heart of UK foreign policy, these cuts tell a different story—one where political will is directed towards militarisation rather than meaningful investment in peace, security, and gender equality.

Since the UK reduced its Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment from 0.7% to 0.5% of GNI, gender-focused funding has seen a disproportionate decline. CARE’s recent report revealed that UK aid for gender equality fell from £6.3bn in 2019 to £3.4bn in 2022—the lowest on record since reporting began in 2014. With the latest round of cuts announced today, this decline will only deepen, compounding the effects of previous reductions and contributing to a global trend where major donors are pulling back from gender equality commitments.

This decision is particularly damning in 2025, the year marking the 25th anniversary of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action. At a time when the UK claims to be strengthening partnerships with the Global South, it is instead choosing to undermine them by diverting resources away from development and gender equality and into increasingly prioritisation of militarisation. This shift does not make the UK or the world safer—it makes conflict more likely. The UK’s arms sales have already made it complicit in human rights violations by countries such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. An expanded defence budget, framed as a response to global insecurity, risks further entrenching cycles of violence rather than addressing their root causes.

After the election, we called for strategic investment in Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) programming and gender equality as critical foundations for long-term stability. Instead, the government has reaffirmed its commitments in rhetoric while stripping them of necessary funding in practice. The UK has pledged to prevent conflict, advance gender equality, and tackle global threats, yet these cuts cast serious doubt on how such promises can be met.

We urge the government to reverse these harmful decisions. If it refuses, at the very least, it must engage in meaningful consultations with civil society and women’s rights organisations to ensure that those most affected—women and girls in all their diversity—are not once again forced to bear the consequences of political choices that prioritise militarism over human security.

Eva Tabbasam (Director)

“Our collective security is achieved by addressing the root causes of injustice and inequality – this is what is able to prevent and meaningfully resolve conflict; address climate change; confront the types of misinformation that led to race riots in the UK this summer; and can make migration a choice rather than a survival strategy. These cuts will achieve the complete opposite results and will only undermine UK and global peace and security.”

Statement from the GAPS Secretariat

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