Is foreign aid better spent at home?
There is much controversy over the announcement that there are plans to cut the foreign aid budget after the Spending Review announced yesterday in light of the global pandemic.
Boris Johnson is facing a growing Tory backlash over plans to cut the international aid budget as part of a sweeping Spending Review aimed at dealing with the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.
The 0.7% target is written into law and Mr Johnson’s 2019 election manifesto promised to keep it, but now it is set to be cut to 0.5% of gross national income (GNI).
A number of prominent Conservatives publicly expressed concern at the move – which formed part of the party’s manifesto – as the Government’s economic forecasts were questioned by some economists.
The overseas aid cut was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as one of a number of measures intended to help cope with the economy contracting by an expected 11.3% this year.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said it was “shameful and wrong”.
Oxfam chief executive Danny Sriskandarajah said: “Cutting the UK’s lifeline to the world’s poorest communities in the midst of a global pandemic will lead to tens of thousands of otherwise preventable deaths.”
The criticism follows interventions ahead of the statement from former prime ministers Sir John Major, David Cameron and Tony Blair, as well as Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.
Sir John told The Times: “Cutting our overseas aid is morally wrong and politically unwise. It breaks our word and damages our soft power.
“Above all, it will hurt many of the poorest people in the world.”
Rishi Sunak said the Government had to make firm decisions as Britain faced its biggest downturn for 300 years, with unemployment set to hit 2.6 million by the middle of 2021, according to official forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Mr Sunak also announced what amounted to a pay freeze for an estimated 1.3 million public sector workers.
NHS workers will be spared the “pause” in wage rises, and those earning below £24,000 will receive at least £250 extra.
What are your views? Is it right that we cut foreign aid this year in light of the pandemic? Or is it more essential than ever to help those who continue to suffer around the world?
What are your views?
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We don't tolerate swearing, and reserve the right to remove any posts which we feel may offend others... let's keep it friendly!
PS. Trump will be looking for a job later this month, what do you think ? (See what I mean ?)
One small part of the conversation, and with a very educated and well travelled French and mature man went something like this:
I commented about EU membership, and all the ins and outs for different countries, with benefits of belonging, and monetary disadvantages for some others, when he gave me a wry smile and quitely said, and with a little chuckle:
'The problem that you brits have is that you play cricket' and when I looked puzzled he explained thus:
What you agree to, you do, whereas we just agree to everything, and then just don't do it'.
Shame on you, and as one Queen once saidin history in a reply to being told 'the population has no bread', the reply was 'then let them eat cake'. Still the same out of touch today in their unreal world.
I am pro monarchy, but their self indulgence is not in tough with the World of today.
We called our stamping on such countries 'The Commonwealth', and WE STILL DO!
But 'pay back' too late for all that, by decades, or even a century in some cases...
Yes, we stamped on many countries, but then again we brought them a terriffic amount of prosperity, jobs, structure and wealth...
Quid pro quo in the long run...
Speak for yourself if you really reckon that = WRONG in the REAL World!
Our NHS was buried in lack of funding and cut-backs as were schools and housing etc. well before the Covid crisis.
NOW we face en-mass a great many job losses and unemployment (and so sadly small) businesses that will never recover.
Can we really afford to send big swathes of money and aid to other counties when a great many for example small business owners will be going bankrupt and losing their homes.
Charity begins at home!
We have children going hungry in the UK, homelessness, poverty in all walks of life, healthcare these and I'm sure many more issues should be where the money is is used in our own country, with all the extra government borrowing due to the pandemic we need to concentrate on looking after our own UK citizens
Yes, through our own fault we have hungry children in the UK, but other counties see their children die of thirst.
Perhaps the situation will still be the same in another 25 years or so.
'Charity begins at home'
Takers and givers and givers and takers.
Than God for Brexit as well, in the longer term.
No more MEP's claiming for 1st class flights to and frow and flying Easyjet, and a bundle for an office in Brussels when they rented a P.O. box and phone service.
OH, and there is the taking of the Wife/Husband (or 'Secretary').
Erm.....
And yet suddenly, there was money for ministers to build lavish homes for themselves and their families, to provide expensive cars with holidays abroad.
Money should be designated to specific projects with people tasked with over seeing each project and not just handed over to the government.
Until this change is implemented the people in these countries will continue to live in poverty.
EXACTLY
EXACTLY.
And the same goes for the cost of our MEPs and what was our 'contribution'.
Money down the drain!!!
The shock comes when Europeans visit the UK and see the sights of extreme poverty in a country that tops the amount of foreign aid given.
Most of our European government neighbours would not allow such extravagance to buy favours with third world despots.
If foreign aid is used wisely, it could help poor countries set up projects and programmes that would help out and put a curb on this incessant refugee problem that doesn't seem to end.
It's no good throwing money at the problem. It should be used for specific purposes.
I believe that for conditions to change we should ensure that all the girls in underdeveloped countries are educated, and should no longer be subjected to abuse, forced marriage, and unwanted pregnancy, but taught self care, skills, better land use etc. until they are no longer prepared to endure the conditions which they find themselves in. That is where our cash is best spent.
, That is when change comes about, when people are helped to help themselves.
I lived in rural Africa many years ago, nothing much has changed it seems, when those in power have no regard for their peoples.
Changes in the attitude of these rulers must come from the top and as shown, this is a near impossible job, either by political or diplomatic means. All the time that aid is given unchecked at the receiving end, then it will finish up paying for the high life of the greedy few at the top.
Too much of our money that is given in foreign aid is not spent where it should be, If a country needs the monetary aid they should have to apply for it and specify exactly what it is for - not for some rich ruler or to fund a space programme -
Our country at this moment in times needs the money to help in this pandemic
This country now owes trillions of pounds How are we selfish God helps those that help themselves as the saying goes .
When this country is a economically viable state things may change .this country is right by the top of the list in giving and i guess a lot of it is wasted and squirrelled away by despicable people hanging on to the gravy train
If people want to give to charity ... thats down to them .Its this country's economy i and many others are worried about .I don't think that is selfish just plain common sense.
Just one of many , but put some money in the collection box of the Salvation Army amongst others, and not squander taxpayers money towards buying 200 pairs of ladies shoes for a certain dictator.
The net African goverment income just can't support the ever growing population and their, we know, dire needs for at least basic education, health, food, and housing conditions.
We in the West are in a way encouraging them to continue having so many babies that the family and goverment simply cannot afford.
Charitable money might be better spent on family planning education and more widely available contrception.
Only then would the African countries begin to self support themselves; and they may then be able to prosper more like the west with so much less drain on their economy.
Nothing in the above is a racist comment, simply an economic observation.
Pleas agree or disagree as you wish.
We have poor people who smoke ,often taylor made fags and some that seem to find money for a generous display of tattoos and nail manicures and some may like illegal drugs Other may be stitched in to high mobile and tv contracts
I think we should take care of our veteran service men first then educate all the others to be self disciplined in money management , housekeeping ,cookery,learning how to use a sewing machine to make and repair clothes , personal health etc etc
I am advocating that as we have become a needy country we use all foreign aid to educate and help those that genuinely require it here at home that want to be helped and educated.
Its no good dealing out money across the world when we need issues in this country fixed .
when it is fixed and I mean really fixed then is the time if we can afford it to splash the cash
When we took over Hong Kong way way back the british governing body gave away very little if anything ,and this encouraged the inhabitants to stand on their own two feet hence when we handed the country over to China after 100 years of british rule Hong Kong was a wealthy country
I guess I have stood on a few corns with my statement ,but please think about it .With this cache of money we can start year by years to improve the UK's social problems
"When we took over Hong Kong way way back the british governing body gave away very little if anything ,and this encouraged the inhabitants to stand on their own two feet hence when we handed the country over to China after 100 years of british rule Hong Kong was a wealthy country".
I absolutely 100% agree, and that is what I was trying to get across in my post of a few minutes ag.
It seems that most of the contributors to this thread that in favour of pouring aid every year into [ poor !!??] countries do not realise [or want to know ] that the aid given by the UK is mostly in monitory terms and not in hard machinery as was Lease/Lend during the last war.
Memories are sometimes perhaps short lived, so why are we still supporting the Indian Navy, why are special medical supplies being hijacked and then sold on the black market by African countries etc., etc. [ Manufacturing codes have been traced back]
Corruption by the recipient seems to be the order of the day.
Unless the system is tightened up, the racketeers will just get richer on money that the UK badly needs right now.
Over several months, we offered lodgings to heavy industry workers heading south for work in our two up and two down. It was a North Yorkshire hamlet and almost everyone helped us out with food or money so these men had a bed and a good meal to travel on. I'm not boasting. Just stating a fact.
In those days the State couldn't help those wretches but they could give huge amounts in foreign aid and voted themselves a pay rise. I could go on about inequalities but best not to.
As far as foreign aid is concerned I'm all in favour, providing it is affordable, doesn't become an industry. There must be very tight regulation and scrutiny through the process. Nothing else is acceptable.
We in the West are in a way encouraging Africa and India etc by continuing to turn a blind eye to them having so many babies per female and their partner(s) that the family and goverment simply cannot afford.
Charitable money might be better spent on family planning education and more widely available contraception.
Only then would these needy countries begin to self support themselves; and they may then be able to prosper more like the west with so much less drain on their economy.
One baby per couple in China, the same for the third world countries would do wonders for their economies.
We have an enormously rich pool of expertise in so many fields (aerospace, for example) that absolutely must be developed and the products exported.
We must become a manufacturing nation once again, a maritime nation as Churchill called us. Import only those people who will significantly contribute something the Brits can't do for themselves.
A headline the other day ...'Trade not Aid.' During three Post War decades we traded with the Commonwealth rather than sent aid. That condition is of greater benefit to all parties, surely.
The good times are gone. Like it or not, and most won't like it, the nation is being forced back on its wits by circumstance. That will turn out to be a good thing in the long run. Our dependence on ever updated imported consumer goods must diminish; dependence on welfare payments etc., will sooner or later be cut. The Brits are going to have to stand on their own feet, it's the only way.
As I write it's just been announced unions at Heathrow plan a series of pre-Christmas strikes. How helpful is that?
He does seem to have his head screwed on and definitely one of the few cabinet ministers that I feel confident with his judgement.
In January we'll be free of the dead hand of EU regulations. We may again subsidise promising start-ups, fund development in appropriate fields, develop new markets where no one knew they existed. Utilising near space for mankind's eventual good will be the result of massive advances in technology. We need to be at the forefront of that.
John Kennedy made his now famous speech about going to the moon in 1961. That gave NASA nine years to do the job. Against all odds NASA mobilised every necessary industry, tech firm, university and put them on the payroll. We developed fuel cell technology in Cambridge. A chap called Bacon perfected it and we sold it world wide. We designed and built much of the intricate telemetry for the space programme. Our computer engineers worked with IBM to develop the necessary computing power. I could go on. NASA did it! But not without the Brits.
Wilf, we're an unusual people. We've harnessed three quarters of the globe for our own needs; Against all odds we've won two world wars by our courage and ingenuity, our inventiveness and resourcefulness.
6 million Jewish people, mainly refugees and immigrants lead the world in quantum, nano-tech, computing technology and much more. And that with 100 million hostile Islamic nations around them.How much more could we Brits, an island people, take the lead in anything we chose and supply the world. Even the mighty Apple company is set for a fall. We should be there to fill the void.
Forget the global village, the one world power brokers, their time is passed. In this brave new world it's going to be every nation for itself. We need to get a head start.
Come on Wilf, where's your lion's heart? Where's your faith in us Brits? Just leave the obstacles behind and tell our politicians - Just Do It! Tell our industrialists, come on, wake up, this is a whole new world now, it's ours to sell to. Get on with it, man.
Foreign Aid has become an industry, worse a government department complete with its own cabinet minister, civil servants, legal experts etc., at a cost of billions. It's also become an entire industry much as 'Charity' has. Big Business, big salaries and big profits for the few. But questionable level of benefit for recipients.
Why do we support a five member girl band in Aden? How is that feeding or watering people? Supporting an Indian space programme, allowing African dictators to extort money from our so called Aid Programme? I'm sure there's so much more corruption in the Aid industry but it's just now published.
Perhaps a publish detailed annual account, a cost benefit analysis, of aid contributions and the costs involved in distributing those contributions would be very revealing, not to mention disappointing. Why can't we demand an accounting from every charity soliciting and spending donations and tax-payers money. That at least would give us a break from the wall to wall coverage of Covid in the press and on TV.
As far as the present cut in the Foreign Aid budget is concerned I believe Sunak is quite right. Based on what little we know about how Aid money is spent I suggest few end-user recipients would be affected! Therefore our consciences shouldn't be disturbed.
It has been said that when charity shops sell stuff only 16p in the £ actually gets to the chity fund for their use.
Take away the management costs etc. etc. and we givers are flogging a dead horse.
Poverty here is appalling and a disgrace, but caused by unjust distribution of wealth and an acceptance that we are stuck in the status quo with regard to supporting those in need. I’m in favour, although I am not at all rich, of increasing taxes to fulfil our commitment to overseas aid and increase our help to those people at home who are struggling. What I don’t want is to see more cash wasted on unnecessary schemes like HS 2, expensive consultants and spin doctors whose sole purpose seems to be to confuse the public, and weapons.
We are a rich nation...we just spend it wrongly.
"When we took over Hong Kong way way back the british governing body gave away very little if anything ,and this encouraged the inhabitants to stand on their own two feet hence when we handed the country over to China after 100 years of british rule Hong Kong was a wealthy country".
Think about that, and if these countries tried to keep their birth rate down from many babies per female then they may be able to start standing on their own two feet.
At present the African countries do not generate the net national government income to support this sharp rise in their population.
Charitable monies would be better spent on education in contraceptives, and the widespread availability of same.
I would just ask the following questions:
Do you support the suppression of freedom of speech?
Do you support giving pensions to ex-terrorists?
Do you support manufacturing weapons of mass destructions?
Do you support funding space projects rather than health and hygiene?
Do you support ethnic cleansing?
Do you support funding a girl band?
Do you support corruption in the distribution of funds?
I suspect that you do not, I suspect that you recoil at the suggestion and I in no way imply that you are aware of these things. The are not conspiracy theories. These are where some of our generous aid goes.
I will not argue the politics of whether we are a "wealthy" nation here but we obviously disagree.
You are patently a good, caring person, but I fear naive.
It can never be justified as shady incentives to representatives of states like china.
It can never be justified for places like India that have nuclear weapons and a space programme.
It can never be justified as bonuses for terrorists in parts of the world.
The inference that it affects our standing in the world is arrant nonsense, and it feels more like an extension of, at best, virtue signalling; and at worst, bribes. I remain suspicious of the way the aid is administered and those who benefit from this.
I am amused that an "ennobled" minister thinks she is important enough to have an effect on government policy. The sheer audacity and hypocrisy of someone in an exalted financial position, preaching about public money to those who have contributed painfully to it, is breathtaking.
No more than ONE baby per couple.
That would be GREAT for Africa!!!
Then they might be able to support themselves and not need charity from the west.
Nukes but too little food, water, education and health resources.
Quite disgusting...
And we should support such countries, REALLY???
If our financial position gets any worse, Munsterlander, you would be describing Britain.
One farm was close by the A1. It was then a dual carriageway and the scores of men hitching south for work to feed their families. I'd give them a lift if I was going down the road - you'd me surprised just how many people you can cram into a tractor cab on a wet day - all illegal of course!
Even farms were buying even heavier machinery (tax dodge) and laying off men. The whole of the north was a dreadful place to be then, I never want to see or hear of that again, but I fear it's knocking on the door even as I write.
'Imagine if we were really poor and living under a government that didn't care one jot for our lives but another country was providing medicine and food. We would be so thankful.'
And so you should be, BUT if in your country couples were haveing 7 8 9 12 kids, you would only have yourself to blame if you could not afford them.
As I said before:
Ref China.
No more than ONE baby per couple.
That would be GREAT for Africa!!!
Then they may well seriously prosper and might be able to support themselves and not need charity from the west.