Jim joins celebrities to urge global poverty promise

Jim is urging people across East Renfrewshire to join celebrities like Davina McCall, Mariella Frostrup, Richard Wilson and Meera Syal by signing up to support a new campaign against global poverty – on the fifth anniversary of Nelson Mandela's Make Poverty History speech in Trafalgar Square.

In a campaign video released today, the celebrities invite people to show their support for a new law that would commit the UK to spend 0.7% of national income on development assistance, by signing up at www.GlobalPovertyPromise.com - where you can also see the video.

The celebrities highlight how small 0.7% is - yet how much of a difference it will make to lives in the developing world. The www.globalpovertypromise.com website is part of a campaign to put Britain’s promise to raise international development aid to 0.7% of national income by 2013 into law. 

Jim said:

“People across East Renfrewshire are proud of what we’ve achieved and the help we’ve given to people living lives of poverty in developing countries. We’ve campaigned to Make Poverty History and kept our promises through this global recession.

“I am urging people to go online today and join me and celebrities like Davina McCall by signing up at “globalpovertypromise.com”

Douglas Alexander, Labour’s International Development Secretary, said:

“Jim has been a passionate campaigner on global poverty and a long standing advocate of action to help people in the developing world.

“Aid increases and debt cancellation have helped to get 40 million more children into school, while the number of people with access to AIDS treatment has increased from just 100,000 to over 4 million. The proportion of the world’s population living in poverty has fallen from a third to a quarter thanks to a combination of both aid and trade.

“Unfortunately the Tories refuse to make a similar commitment to introduce a law and keep our promise.”

Additional Information

Last year alone, Labour’s Department for International Development helped train over 100,000 teachers, vaccinate more than three million children against measles, provide a million people with clean water, protect seven million people with anti-malaria bednets and give more than 12 million people access to better sanitation.

• To back the campaign and see the celebrity video, go to: www.globalpovertypromise.com
• To find out how Mandela’s call to action has been delivered on – visit www.dfid.gov.uk/mph5years
• For more on Labour’s international development policy, go to: www.labour.org.uk/international_development1
• To find out more about the Government’s international development work see www.difid.gov.uk