Chancellor cuts International Aid budget

I have absolutely no idea what charity begins at home means, why on earth would I help a person in Cornwall who I have never met over a person in Africa who I have never met. What on earth difference does it make.

I'd happily pay more tax to keep this 0.7%

We are a wealthy country and as it is, this money is not all "gifted" by any means.

Sorry, should be 0.7%

You have a limited amount of money, you have a choice, help your neighbour who has lost their job and is struggling to feed the family and keep a roof over their head or you can send money to another country where it is not certain that money will be used to help a struggling family.

Simplistic yes, but this is basically the choice the Chancellor has.

No. That is not the choice the Chancellor has. It's what he'd like you to believe, though.

The government will never run short of money. A national economy is not the same as a household economy. The government actually issues all our money (where did you all think it came from? Out of thin air?) and it can issue as much as it likes so long as it keeps inflation down to a reasonable level. Paying out 0.75% of our GDP is not going to make any difference to what can be spent in this country.

I agree that we should help those people who are in dire straits but there has to be some accountability as to where that money goes. Lining the pocket of a dictator when his people are starving is so very wrong.
I think that cutting the percentage of aid that we give is the right thing to do at the present time.

Our aid will still be more than a good many countries donate, including many in Europe, inc. France, the US and Australia.

Well Oldwoman70, that's not the choice we're faced with, is it? Let's try this one: Would you rather spend £10bn on saving children's lives, or on PPE contracts for Government ministers' cronies?

Can I ask those who are against the cut what choice they would make:

You have a limited amount of money, you have a choice, help your neighbour who has lost their job and is struggling to feed the family and keep a roof over their head or you can send money to another country where it is not certain that money will be used to help a struggling family.

Simplistic yes, but this is basically the choice the Chancellor has.

Over the years the UK has sent billions of pounds in foreign aid and every year we get reports of money being syphoned off by corrupt officials and governments.

How much money has been sent to provide clean water to people in Africa, appeals which I recall donating to as a teenager over 50 years ago, where was all that money spent?

When even the Daily Telegraph is carrying stories saying that the cuts are a bad idea, you know it must be pretty extreme.

tidyskatemum says I would oppose the cut if the money was actually improving the lives of people in other countries.

Quote from a former Tory minister in the Telegraph - Andrew Mitchell, former international development secretary, told MPs the cuts would cause "100,000 preventable deaths, mainly among children".

Does keeping them alive count as improving their lives?

Unless of course those who wish foreign aid to remain as it is puts their own hands in their pockets ?

Can those here who are in danger of losing their homes go cap in hand to the government and get a handout as quick as foreign aid is sent ? I'd be knocking at No.10 if I was them.
Where's the rescue package for them ?
Sorry, but charity begins at home.

The money really isn't needed here. The government can create as much money as it needs, its only real constraint is inflation. But inflation is not a problem at the moment.

There is no reason to cut the aid budget

gimms.org.uk/

dfidnews.blog.gov.uk/2019/01/05/uk-aid-support-in-corrupt-countries/

www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/uk-aid-against-2-trillion-lost-corruption/

I think foreign aid should be sent only when there are disasters eg earthquakes, tsunamis etc. That money is really needed here.

If you read the papers, China and India are richer than we are.

I bet they don't feel rich !

Tell that to the couple of million who've lost their jobs through no fault of their own,Riverwalk.

I would oppose the cut if the money was actually improving the lives of people in other countries. However, we regularly hear that vast amounts end up in the pockets of middlemen and foreign officials so if our “soft power” aims are to make chums of corrupt people overseas we’ve been on a winner for years. Of course aid charities are up in arms - they can see their own gravy train, already hit by COVID, getting smaller. And don’t get me started on the hypocrisy of the media who today are busy bleating about how terrible the cut is - by next week they’ll be back to screeching about all the money we’re wasting overseas.

Is the fact that India has a space programme the reason why we need to spend a ridiculous amount of money on defence, including space, lemongrove.

The aid budget is a percentage of GDP, as the GDP falls so does the aid.

It seems a particularly unnecessary and mean cut.

....and yes, I realise that a lot of money is given for political favours and diplomatic purposes as well as charitable giving,
But since all western countries are in such a bind economically speaking, then it still makes sense to cut it.

Parsley3

I don’t think people here who have lost jobs and rely on food banks would consider themselves to be rich beyond compare. It’s a meaningless phrase. Continue to support countries by overseas aid but ask for evidence of how it has been effective.
I agree with the chancellor on this one.

I agree Parsley ...the UK spends huge amounts on it and cannot continue this way for years I should think. Cut the budget and make sure it’s used for the right reasons in the right countries.India has a space programme! China? They are doing very nicely.
All western countries will have to reconsider aid budgets over the next year or two.

Just listening to a conversation between an EU former policy chief and an American interviewer.

Interestingly and with a a good deal of evidence the EU spokeswoman stated that as individual countries in Europe they wouldn’t be well placed to recover from the virus economic impact, but as an economic union they are well placed with their strength to recover better than individual countries.

Well done Britain. What b.....y idiots.

Afterall, who helps us ?

EllanVannin why would we need help - we are one of the world's wealthiest economies?

One wonders which charity at home Sunak has in mind. It certainly isn’t those on universal credit, which he intends to cut in April.