News story

10th November 2004

Local MP Joins Bob Geldof to Launch New Global Poverty Campaign
 

Steve Webb with Bob Geldof, calling for increased levels of UK aid

Northavon MP Steve Webb has this week joined MPs of all parties and celebrities from stage and screen to help launch a new campaign designed to take forward the fight against global poverty. The campaign focuses on the fact that the UK government will next year have the presidency of the European Union and will be hosting the G8 group of the world's richest nations and can therefore take a lead in co-ordinating international efforts to tackle global poverty. The campaign, entitled "Make poverty history" is backed by all the major aid agencies and has three goals:

* to change world trade rules to make trade fair;
* to achieve comprehensive cancellation of third world debt;
* to ensure that the world's richest countries increase the value and effectiveness of their aid;

Speaking after the Westminster launch of the campaign, Northavon MP Steve Webb said:

"I am passionate about working towards a world where people do not die of hunger or the lack of the basics of life such as clean water. I know that this is an issue on which many local people also feel passionately. Previous campaigns such as Jubilee 2000 and "drop the debt" have achieved a great deal in raising public awareness and pressuring governments to do more. I hope that this new campaign will achieve a real breakthrough. I give it my wholehearted support".

The launch event at Westminster featured contributions from Lenny Henry, Davina McCall, Claudia Schiffer and Richard Curtis and is backed by Bob Geldof.

More information about the campaign can be found on the website at www.makepovertyhistory.org.  It is the largest UK coalition ever assembled to fight against world poverty, and parallel campaigns are taking place in 60 nations across the world.