With rightwing hawks circling the ringfenced aid budget, ‘Value for Money' is the new mantra ringing through DfID's Palace Street offices. But how does this stack up against some of the government's early aid decisions?

What a difference a month makes. One day immigration is just the talk of the rabid right, the next it is the holy grail of every potential Labour leader seeking an "honest debate" to "reconnect" with lost communities.

The Lib Dems have not fought the corner of international development - they are absent from DfID and big ideas such as the Robin Hood Tax have been dropped

Could the ‘Invitation to Join the Government of Britain' ever be extended to include ‘The Right Honourable Member for the Global South'? Unlikely maybe, but perhaps it should.

If ever asked to explain the value of politics and popular campaigning in improving people's welfare, two historical examples come to mind - the mass campaign to abolish the slave trade and, less glamourously, the introduction of London's Victorian sewers.

How can a single word shouted in parliament ruin a bill that would protect developing countries from unscrupulous opportunism?

As a petition is handed to the speaker of the Ugandan parliament today against an anti-gay bill what else can Britain do to stand up for LGBT rights across the globe?

Just as every good folk story needs a hero, villain and a dame, so does a strong campaign. And so the spirit of Robin Hood is invoked today by a coalition of leading NGOs and trade unions to put banks at the centre of tackling poverty and injustice. But who will play the role of Robin Hood, the Sheriff, Little John?