Mo Farah, Robbie Williams, Ewan McGregor and Sienna Miller join forces to demand George Osborne keep his promises on aid
Chancellor George Osborne will be in the good books of a host of stars – including Mo Farah, Robbie Williams, Ewan McGregor and Sienna Miller – IF he keeps his promises on international aid in the forthcoming Budget on March 20th.
Stars from the world of music, film and sport have joined forces to write a joint letter to George Osborne, urging him to take action to help end world hunger. Nearly thirty high profile individuals beseech him to keep his promises on international aid and crack down on tax dodging by big businesses working in poor countries.
The letter:
Dear Chancellor,
I am writing to thank you for your leadership in protecting the aid budget. By announcing in the Budget that the UK will give 0.7% of national income to life saving aid, you’ll be making good a 43-year-old promise and helping millions of people in their fight against poverty and hunger
In 2012, the UK demonstrated inspiring global leadership and community spirit through our hosting of the Olympic Games. This year, the UK Government has an opportunity to build on that promising legacy, when it hosts a major summit on food and hunger and chairs the G8 in June.
Keeping our word and doing the right thing are part of what Britain stands for. We can be proud that, in the face of crises, in good times and bad, the British public show great strength and generosity. Because of this, we can be collectively proud that huge strides have been made in reducing poverty and 14,000 fewer children are dying each day than in 1990.
The world is at a tipping point where we could abolish absolute poverty but hunger is threatening to reverse these achievements. Food prices have been higher than ever in recent years, affecting people everywhere and climate change is making things worse.
By matching the strength of spirit of the British people, we could be the generation that starts to end hunger.
No budget decisions can be taken lightly, but investing in the long term will be cheaper for all of us. We simply can’t afford hunger to rise to the emergency famine levels we saw in 2011.
In order for poor countries to be self-sufficient, as well as investment in aid they also need their own revenue to spend on fighting hunger. That is why the IF campaign is also calling on the UK and other governments to change global rules to make sure companies pay their fair share of tax in the poor countries in which they operate.
Along with others, I am proud that the UK is keeping its promise to provide 0.7% of our income for life saving aid and leading the way on vital tax reforms, which will provide a lasting solution for the world’s poorest people.
Yours Sincerely
Mo Farah, Olympic Gold Medallist; Robbie Williams, Singer; Ewan McGregor, Actor
Bill Nighy, Actor; Jemima Khan, Journalist and Campaigner; Sienna Miller, Actor; Raymond Blanc, Chef; Dermot O’Leary, Presenter; Helena Christensen, Model; Angelique Kidjo, Singer; Michael Sheen, Actor; Eddie Izzard, Comedian; Shazia Mirza, Comedienne; Tamsin Greig, Actor; Tom Hiddleston, Actor; Keeley Hawes, Actor; Joanne Froggatt, Actor; Fay Ripley, Actor; Valentine Warner, Chef; Vivek Singh, Chef; Emilia Fox, Actor; Miriam Margolyes, Actor; Jimmy Doherty, Presenter ; Roger Lloyd Pack, Actor ; Billy Boyd, Actor; Atul Kochar, Chef; Jun Tanaka, Chef, Cat Deeley, TV Presenter
Jenny Ricks, Enough Food for Everyone spokesperson said:
“Millions of people across the UK backed Make Poverty History and we can be proud that the Government will next week deliver on a promise we made then to the world’s poorest.
“British aid will help many of the 1 in 8 people in the world who go to bed hungry each night.
“This Budget can also assist poor countries to help themselves by enabling them to collect taxes from companies refusing to pay their fair share.
“Trillions of pounds is hidden in tax havens while people in the UK are struggling to make ends meet and in poor countries two million children starve to death every year.
“Cracking down on tax dodging in this year’s Budget would be a win-win – it will help poor people abroad but also those at home.”
Enough Food for Everyone IF is a coalition of 160 organisations and counting which have joined together to campaign for action by the G8 on the issue of global hunger. The last time we worked together at this scale was for Make Poverty History. Now that the G8 group of world leaders are returning to the UK in June, we are demanding they take action on hunger.
Poor countries lose around $160 billion every year to tax dodging, money which could be used to support vital services or invested in agriculture to make sure everyone has enough food. That’s more than three times what they receive in aid and is enough money to save the lives of 230 children under 5 every single day – that’s almost 8 primary school classes
The Government has pledged to make tackling tax avoidance by multinationals a priority for the G8 summit. The UK has an opportunity to show real leadership by putting its own house in order in the Budget.
Sign up now at www.enoughfoodif.org and make sure the G8 leaders put food on the agenda when they meet in the UK in June.