UK Development Partnership Assistance

Lord St John of Bletso Excerpts

Thursday 29th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord St John of Bletso (CB)]

My Lords, we shall deeply miss the wisdom of the noble Lord, Lord Browne of Ladyton, who has served both Houses with great distinction. He has knowledge in foreign affairs and defence. We have met on numerous occasions, in airports and all over the world. He speaks with such experience, and he will be sorely missed in your Lordships’ House. Obviously, I will be giving my valedictory speech soon, as an outgoing hereditary, but that is another point.

I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Featherstone, for introducing this topical debate. I add my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Hyde of Bemerton, and the noble Lord, Lord Barber, on their outstanding and moving maiden speeches.

I will focus my brief remarks on how UK development partnership assistance has been an effective diplomatic tool and an assistant in conflict prevention and soft power. I will devote my remarks purely to Africa. Clearly, the recent budget costs have caused a huge strain on the effectiveness of our development programmes. I add my critical voice.

I would prefer, in my brief few words, to add a few more positive notes on some of the more successful initiatives in Africa. Africa poses both a challenge and an opportunity. With over 60% of the population under the age of 25, Africa is too frequently viewed through the narrow lens of conflict, crisis and governance challenges. However, digital public infrastructure has strengthened governance in countries such as Rwanda and Kenya, reducing corruption and improving service delivery. These reforms have been supported by UK technical assistance. In Kenya, the mobile money platform M-PESA has revolutionised financial inclusion and demonstrated how technology can enhance social stability. Here, UK-supported regulatory and innovation systems have helped to enable this success. Clearly, artificial intelligence has the potential to dramatically improve outcomes in healthcare, education and climate resilience. The UK is well positioned to support this transition.

Through development partnerships, we can help African nations build ethical AI frameworks, local data capacity and skills pipelines, ensuring AI empowers rather than exploits. However, the risk remains that AI could displace jobs faster than the new ones that are created. I join in supporting the UK Soft Power Council, particularly with its focus on Africa. Its promise lies in leveraging education, technology and AI-enabled soft power. However, delivery will depend on sustained investment and clear execution. I am concerned that there has been an overemphasis on short-term objectives, particularly migration controls, at the expense of long-term demographic and digital investments. Soft power cannot be transactional.

Briefly, on conflict resolution, our development partnership assistance has been very effective in Sierra Leone, where sustained diplomatic engagement, aid and security sector reform have helped to underpin a durable peace; and in Somalia, where UK support has strengthened state capacity and mediation efforts. However, elsewhere, progress has fallen far short of expectations, particularly in Sudan and parts of the Sahel, where reductions in funding and fragmented international engagement have weakened early-warning conflict prevention and stabilisation efforts, allowing crises to escalate rather than be contained.

Finally, through the Commonwealth, the UK has been and continues to act as an early and discrete support in conflict prevention, election monitoring and demographic resilience across its members in Africa, using trusted networks and shared institutions to defuse tensions before they escalate.

My five minutes is up. Africa’s demographic surge and digital future will substantially shape the global order. Whether the future is stable, prosperous and co-operative depends partly on how seriously we take diplomacy today. If we can combine long-term commitments, local partnerships and leadership on ethical digital transformation, our development assistance will continue to be strategically indispensable.