With the Tory axe set to swing on the UK’s finances, it is eye-opening for both the left and right that a Conservative government would not only protect the aid budget, but continue to let it rise to meet our international commitments.

For progressives it’s a little like hearing your Gran has an iPod, or your vicar attends swingers’ parties. Sort of cool, but a bit unnerving. For Daily Mail readers it’s like the Queen has been caught singing the Red Flag in German.

So does it, as the Conservatives claim, put the fight against poverty ‘above politics’? Does it put an end to the need for anti-poverty campaigning?

Hardly. Tackling the structures that keep people poor is not like dropping your old clothes off at an Oxfam shop. It will always be about political choices, values and a willingness to respond to public pressure.

Labour’s values led it to treble the aid budget. The Tories claim they’ll do the same, but get more bang for your buck. There’s even a neat new statement of values – ‘One World Conservatism’ – bringing Disraeli to the global stage.

Sounds sort of ok, right? But worry not progressive reader, there’s still plenty to fight for if you value Britain’s role in eradicating the inhumanities of poverty.

First, increasing the aid budget is not the same as more money going to the poor. Everyone is fearful that the huge amounts of money needed to help countries adapt to climate change ($150bn per year globally) will be taken from this pot, something the Conservatives have refused to rule out. All you need is a creative accountant, and the result is fewer schools, medicines and water pumps.

Second, more money does not necessarily equate to effective and accountable states with affordable public services. An added focus on private sector solutions is likely to be central, while there are plenty of voices on the right that would love to prescribe a dose of Thatcherism for the poor.

Third, there are already signs that a Tory Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence will be parking their tanks on DfID’s lawn. The existing independence and clarity of vision was hard fought for because it matters. Glance at where US foreign assistance goes, and you can see the effect of a mission that puts ‘furthering America’s foreign policy interests in expanding democracy and free markets’ at its heart.

Fourth is that old chestnut, Europe. In global negotiations over trade policy, climate change or global governance, it’s the EU that is the global player. It’s the world’s biggest trading bloc, the largest provider of aid and the third greatest emitter of carbon. If the Tories pretend it doesn’t exist, where is our one greener, fairer and more prosperous world going to come from?

Finally, fighting poverty is not just about making a donation then washing your hands. It may mean fighting battles. You need a stomach and a passion to tell pharmaceutical companies they can’t hold the world to ransom with their patents, or to tell the banks that you’re going to tax their transactions. You need balls to tell defence companies that you won’t stand for corruption or human rights abuses.

Right now it may not matter whether the Conservatives believe in increasing aid to ‘detoxify the brand’ or because poverty is a scar on their soul. But as election promises fade, budget restrictions bite, and political battles are required, it will. Worryingly, in a poll for ConservativeHome, only 4% of Tory candidates said they would prioritise saving aid from spending cuts.

These all relate to values, instincts, ideology and priorities. They are all political choices, and they will all matter to the world’s poor. Like me, if you care about fighting poverty – and you read the odd opinion poll – you may want to believe the Tory commitment is genuine, progressive and here to stay. But if you’re a Labour supporter too, this may be another noble cause worth knocking on some doors for.

Photo: IFRC 2010