UK aid cuts hit poorest countries hardest; higher-income share rises

New FCDO figures show UK bilateral aid to least-developed and low-income countries fell 6.7% (£118m) under the Starmer government, while higher-income countries' share increased. This marks a continuation of the UK's post-2020 aid retrenchment, but the shift in allocation toward richer recipients is a notable deviation from stated poverty-reduction priorities. The data is official but the political framing is contested.