WDM’s Head of Policy Peter Hardstaff today said: «This paper represents a significant step forward for UK aid policy and a victory for campaigners who have worked hard to convince the Government to stop imposing policies such as privatisation and trade liberalisation on poor countries. Hilary Benn should be congratulated.»

WDM called on the Government to follow the logic of the move and tackle other mechanisms by which it currently pushes privatisation such as using the aid budget to fund UK business consultancies to promote water privatisation in developing countries and linking UK aid to International Monetary Fund and World Bank privatisation demands.

«Having admitted that it is wrong in principle to force privatisation and trade liberalization on developing countries, the Government must finish the job. This welcome decision now opens up a glaring contradication with other parts of UK policy. There are numerous other ways that the Government continues to support these failed policies. It would be hypocritical of the UK Government to break the link between its own aid and privatisation but continue to make UK aid conditional on countries meeting demands for privatisation by the IMF and World Bank», said Hardstaff.