With Andy Burnham now installed as Prime Minister, and a new Cabinet in place, Send My Friend to School is calling on the incoming Prime Minister to make education a defining part of Britain’s international agenda.

For 25 years, our coalition of international development NGOs and education unions, alongside thousands of young people, has raised its voice in solidarity with children worldwide, calling on successive governments to protect and strengthen support for global education. Our polling shows the wider public backs them: there is strong support for UK spending that helps ensure every child, everywhere, can access quality education. As the new Prime Minister settles into office, here are the four things we’re asking of him.

1. Put education at the heart of UK international development and restore UK leadership on the global stage

Education is not only a development priority, but a strategic investment: it strengthens social cohesion, drives economic growth, promotes gender equality, and helps build the stable, prosperous societies that underpin global security. Since 1980, it has accounted for 50% of global economic growth, 70% of income gains among the world’s poorest, and 40% of extreme poverty reduction. The UK has a proud record of championing global education, but the reduction in UK aid spending has already resulted in significant cuts: compared to FCDO spending across 2023-2025, over the coming three years there will be an estimated £600 million reduction in international focused bilateral ODA to education. At a moment of significant political transition, continuity in the UK’s international development strategy matters more than ever. Restoring the UK’s leadership on education is one of the clearest ways the government can demonstrate that Britain’s ambitions for opportunity at home are matched by its ambitions abroad.

2. Maintain the UK’s £430 million pledge to the Global Partnership for Education

One of the first major decisions facing the new Prime Minister will be the UK’s contribution to the forthcoming replenishment of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). We’re calling on the government to maintain the UK’s previous pledge of £430 million. Even as a real-terms decrease, that pledge would provide predictable financing for countries to strengthen their national education systems, and help GPE train over one million teachers, get more than 11 million additional girls into school, and improve the quality of education for over 84.3 million children by 2030.

3. Listen to young people, and renew support for global citizenship education

Children and young people in the UK deserve to be equipped to understand the world around them and deal with the issues they are facing. With the government reviewing the future of education in England, there’s an opportunity to renew support for global citizenship education: learning that builds critical thinking, participation, and an understanding of our interconnected world.

4. Support reforms to enable growth of domestic budgets for public education

The new Prime Minister has an opportunity to go beyond ODA and tackle the structural barriers to education financing. Domestic public resourcing is the most sustainable source of education financing, yet 25 African countries spend more on debt than education, and low-income countries’ tax-to-GDP ratios average just 16%, against over 40% in high-income countries. We’re calling on the government to back reforms on tax, debt and the international financial architecture, helping countries raise more domestic revenue and sustainably close the funding gap.