Posted: Posted July 13, 2021 / 05:44 AM CDT / Has been updated: July 13, 2021 / 05:44 AM CDT

London (AP) —British lawmakers overturn a significant cut in the country’s foreign aid budget on Tuesday in criticism that the decision cut billions of dollars from programs supporting some of the world’s poorest. I’m voting about whether or not.

Boris Johnson’s conservative government announced in November that it would cut the percentage of national income secured for foreign aid from 0.7% to 0.5% because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the UK economy.

The government said the savings of about £ 4 billion ($ 5.5 billion) this year were temporary, but did not say when it would be cancelled.

Prominent Conservatives, including former Prime Minister Theresa May, have joined opposition politicians, UN agencies and aid groups to criticize budget cuts. They say it will lead to hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths in developing countries, damaging Britain’s reputation in the same way that it seeks to strengthen its international influence in the wake of Brexit. I will.

In the face of rising opposition, the government announced late Monday that Congress would vote on the change. Opponents said last-minute moves were designed to surprise their opponents.

The government says it will recover its 0.7% budget share next year after lawmakers defeat the motion. Otherwise, the amount will only increase if the UK is not borrowing to cover its daily spending and debt is declining. Critics fear that the economic damage caused by a pandemic means that these conditions are unlikely to be met for years.

Former Secretary of State for International Development, conservative legislator Andrew Mitchell, called the government’s move a “trap” and warned his colleagues not to be “ridiculous.”

“In the 34 years since I was first elected to the House of Commons, I think I have rebelled against my party and government only about three times,” he said. “But I do so with conviction and enthusiasm today, because I think breaking our promises is the worst thing.”