Tories and Labour criticised over development policies ahead of World Poverty Day

Date: 16 April 2010

Over the weekend, party leaders will focus on global poverty as the battle for hearts and minds heats up in the election race. But a ranking carried out by the World Development Movement reveals that none of the three main parties score well on their plans to tackle key international development issues.

The Conservatives fare particularly poorly (3 out of 10), Labour (5 out of 10) and the Liberal Democrats (6 out of a 10) receive a middling rating. The Greens (8 out of 10) come out on top on issues such as trade justice, international aid and IMF reform.

Julian Oram, the World Development Movement’s head of policy commented:
“We’re sure to hear a lot of noble words around World Poverty Day from the leaders, and it’s heartening that they all rate the issue as an election theme. But when you look at how the three main parties actually plan to tackle poverty in the world today, you’ll see a considerable gap between the grand posturing of the leaders and the stunted ambition of the policies they actually hold.

“For example, anti-poverty campaigners have been shocked by the Conservative party’s admission that part of the aid budget under a Tory government could be used for British military operations in developing countries. And Labour’s promise to help countries cope with climate change would also come out of the aid budget, diverting finance away from health and education, rather than being additional to that much needed aid.

“The take-home message to the three main party leaders is: must do better if you genuinely want to tackle the root causes of global poverty.”

To read WDM’s analysis of the parties’ development policies, and how we scored them, read our election report.

All 3 main parties are expected to make statements on international development issues this weekend.