World Poverty Day: UK election focus

By PDS | 27 April 2005

Party leaders from across the political spectrum fighting a general election in Britain agreed to devote a day of campaigning (last Sunday) to the issue of world poverty. There is a cross-party political consensus in Britain that freer and fairer trade is the way to reduce world poverty.

Tony Blair told a protectionist rally about Labour's plans to increase state-to-state aid. His government has an impressive record of supporting market opening, privatization and free-market policies in the developing world. The government's Department for International Development and the Department for Trade and Industry have together projected a British Model for development that is market-friendly, pragmatic and admired worldwide. Mr Blair avoided trade and preferred to emphasise his government's commitment to increasing aid, hardly surprising given the audience he was speaking to were avowedly protectionist. Blair's political rhetoric might emphasise his more "left-wing" policies, but in practise the government's policy has been to welcome and encourage globalization as a force for good.

The Liberal Democrat's policies are: to break down the tariff and quota barriers that prevent the poorest countries in the world selling their goods to wealthy countries on fair terms; press for reductions in agricultural subsidies in wealthy countries; seek to prevent wealthy countries dumping subsidised agricultural exports in developing countries, which causes enormous damage to farmers and their communities; and introduce measures which actively promote trade and inward investment in developing countries.

Michael Howard, leader of the Conservative Party, made a clear case for a pro-growth, pro-poor agenda: "Good governance, free enterprise, free markets and fairer trade - these offer an end to global poverty. The growth of free markets will do more to lift people out of poverty than all the aid programmes in the world. The failure of many politicians to grasp this fundamental truth has left millions of people stranded in poverty... Protection for developed countries at the expense of the developing world must come to an end. It is both immoral and hypocritical. Instead of putting up barriers, we need to open our markets to the developing countries... There's a desperate need for good government in poor countries - above all the rule of law, free elections and a free press."

Although there are differences between the parties, it is heartening to to see that the message of freer and fairer trade, capping the CAP subsidy regime, promoting peace and democracy are increasingly a matter of cross-party consensus, which means whoever wins the election the British Model for development will remain unchanged.