Why is Labour so obsessed with reaching 0.7% GNI in aid?

[Jeneral2885]

Why is Labour so obsessed with reaching 0.7% GNI in aid?

1) Doing their time in office, they love to pian the discourse that they raised the aid budget much higher than Thatcher or Major did. Data from OECD Stat extracts--http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=ODA_DONOR show that aid dropped in 2007 and the final aid/GNI was around 0.52-0.56--far off from the 0.7%. now in opposition, they are so concerned that aid should reach 0.7%/GNI by 2013.

2) It's so nice to chase a UN target--that by 2011, is much outdated. But I agree, its ok to chase after UN goals--as with following the MDGs. But reaching 0.7% does not mean anything at all to a poor person in a developing country. It just means that the UK is spending so much--there is nothing on aid policies, activities mentioned at all. You can reach 0.7%, 0.007% 7% of aid but you wont be able to make a difference. More so because UK aid, while absolved of commerical links, has some tenets of neo-liberalism with it--especially the aid channelled through the World Bank. So give 0.7% of aid. That won't end poverty. That won't certainly improve development.

3)Chasing after targets is fine--not when your party didnt reach it and not whne your are so obssessed with numbers.

[non sociopath skin]

1. Er ... ok ...

The Skin

[TheBigotBasher]

2. It was part of the cuddly conservative manifesto

which of course coalitions do not have to be held to.

[Jeneral2885]

3. all of them

it's in all their manifestos. Labour has unfounded visions that development will not occur without 0.7% which they never reached and infact lowered aid in one year during their term.