Cllr Gill Mitchell

The Leader of the Labour Group, Cllr Gill Mitchell is urging people across Brighton and Hove to go online and back a new campaign to turn a promise to tackle global poverty into law.
 
The campaign's aim is to put the Government’s promise to raise international development aid to 0.7% of national income by 2013 into legislation.
 
Cllr Gill Mitchell said:
“People across Brighton and  Hove have campaigned to Make Poverty History and as a country we have kept our promises despite this global recession. This is something that is affecting every corner of the world, including our local communities but it is hitting the worlds poorest the hardest.
 
Douglas Alexander, Labour’s International Development Secretary, said:
“Labour activists in Brighton and  Hove have been passionate campaigners on global poverty and long standing advocates 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.
 
“The Tories say they want a consensus on international development but when you scratch the surface, you find that they have changed their branding but not their beliefs. When they were last in Government, the Tories halved the British aid budget while Labour has trebled it. Now they refuse to back our plan to put our promise into law.”
 
To support the campaign visit:
www.globalpovertypromise.com

For more information on Labour view:
www.brighton-hove-labour.org.uk/