Act Global volunteer Faheem Chowdhury shares his thoughts about the opportunity the UK General Election brings for the future of development and changing the lives of millions of poor people across the world.   

While the upcoming elections are sure to draw out a number of contentious plans and bring more debates over the ailing British economy, it is as important a time as any to consider the role of aid and debt relief in development efforts.   Under economic pressures the need for effective and efficient development assistance is a prime issue.  With dwindling resources we must make better use of what (little) we give.

Added to this economic strain there is an ever growing concern for matters of climate change which are increasingly dominating public consciousness.  Much of this is due to climate change being a poverty issue that will adversely affect the lives of millions worldwide.  

So in summation we have a poverty stricken world struggling financially, a development system that is in need of supplementing and rehashing, and an ever lingering anxiousness over our climate.  There is therefore every requirement for a change of tact and vigour.

Thus let us return to our upcoming elections to be fought over by our scandal ridden politicians.  Surely this is a great opportunity to make use of the attentive ears of vote hungry policy makers desperate for credibility and support -under the backdrop of calls for financial reform- to further the case for a rethink of global economic and development thinking.  This is prime time and the need for change is growing with every day. 

Thus we find that spectacular need is in fact spectacular prospect; so with a realistic manifesto and leverage in the form of ballots we have every opportunity to bring a significant change to future development approaches.  It is thus time to make serious use of this opportunity with fervent action.