Should the UK suspend foreign aid to countries with the death penalty?
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle and regularly raises concerns with retentionist states through diplomacy. In 2025 the UK provided bilateral ODA to 118 countries, including retentionist ones such as Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where executions occur. Global executions reached the highest level in decades in 2025, with over 2,700 carried out, mainly in a small number of countries, many of which receive international aid.
67 Opinions
We should drastically reduce foreign aid full stop.
No. Foreign aid should be judged on British interests, value for money, corruption, security and measurable results, not automatically withdrawn because another sovereign nation retains the death penalty. I support restoring capital punishment in Britain for the most exceptional crimes, so that would be hypocritical. Executions used for political repression or without proper due process are a separate matter.
Assessment should be made of which need it the most.
No aid is important to these countries people and the poverty they live through. We could impose sanctions on the rulers of these countries rather than the country's populations.
Go one further, suspend all foreign aid. Why are we borrowing with debt interest cost to give money away? You wouldn't do it to your household budget, so why should we have this forced upon us?
Why should British taxpayers send billions to states that hang, stone, or execute their citizens in medieval show trials? In fact... Why send billions abroad in general? I feel with the state of the country at present we need to look inwards rather than outwards in terms of expenditure
While the country is in so much debt we should not have a foreign aid policy.
Stop aid to all countries unless they have an obvious disaster or war.
I voted yes, however, not for just countries with the death penalty. With the new Q4 budget coming and the Chancellor already providing warning for a tight budget yet again. Foreign aid must be looked at as a priority of UK expenditure. Are we pushing out too much funding whilst we as the country continually need more?
With this question coming on the same day as a question regarding the early prison release scheme. We should be strongly considering bringin back the death penalty, not condeming those who still have it.