Johnson and Sunak won the battle on foreign aid, but it may cost them the war | Martin Kettle

Even though the Tory backbench revolt failed, it showed the government now faces a more divided and volatile party

Less than a month ago, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak stared down the barrel of a political gun. Their plan to cut UK overseas aid spending from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5% faced defeat. At least 45 Conservative MPs – all elected, as Johnson and Sunak were, on the promise to maintain the 0.7% aid level – were committed to reversing the cut.

On Tuesday, only 24 of the Tories rebelled. The government won by 35. So the cut now stands. It stands, moreover, for the foreseeable future. Sunak managed to winnow the revolt by promising to restore the 0.7% figure when, “on a sustainable basis”, the government is no longer borrowing to pay for current expenditure, and underlying debt is falling. This is a Bank of Neverland promise.

Related: The Tory rebellion on aid shows Johnson’s support is a mile wide and an inch deep | Katy Balls

Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist

Continue reading...